WASHINGTON, USA – The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Friday signed a series of cooperation agreements with various Brazilian institutions for judges and prosecutors and professional associations to implement training courses for judges and members of the Public Prosecutor’s Offices of OAS member countries.
The agreement was signed by the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, and the highest authorities of the Conselho Nacional do Ministério Público (CNMP), the Escola Nacional de Formação e Aperfeiçoamento de Magistrados (ENFAM), the Escola Superior do Ministério Público da União (ESMPU), the Escola Nacional de Formação e Aperfeiçoamento de Magistrados do Trabalho (ENAMAT), the Escola Nacional de Formação e Aperfeiçoamento de Magistrados da Justiça Militar da União (ENAJUM), the Escola da Magistratura do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (EMERJ), the Associação dos Magistrados Brasileiros (AMB), the Associação Nacional dos Membros do Ministério Público (CONAMP), the Associação dos Juízes Federais (AJUFE) and the Associação Paulista de Magistrados (APAMAGIS), respectively, with the presence of the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the OAS, Otávio Brandelli.
The secretary-general of the OAS, Luis Almagro, emphasized that “the training of magistrates and members of the public prosecutor’s office is a highly relevant public function and fundamental for the preservation of a true rule of law. A democratic State is not governed by law if it does not have a strong judiciary and prosecutors with functional independence.”
For his part, the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the OAS, Otávio Brandelli, affirmed that the agreement signed “looks to the future” of all the Americas and highlighted “the presence of the Brazilian State and all its powers” in the initiative.
The signing ceremony took place at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC. Secretary-General Almagro signed on behalf of the hemispheric institution, while Alcides Martins (ESMPU), Antonio De Aras (CNMP), Mauro Marques (ENFAM), Artur de Oliveira (ENAJUM), Cristina Gáulia (EMERJ), Renata Videira (AMB), Adriano de Assis (CONAMP), Nelson Alves (AJUFE) and Walter Barone (APAMAGIS) signed on behalf of the counterparts.
Following the agreement, the signatory institutions will meet with members of the OAS Secretariat for legal affairs to establish the work program for the coming year.
It is hoped that the exchange of best practices among justice system operators in the countries of the Americas will lead to greater efficiency in the administration of justice, as well as the consolidation of democracy in the region, which depends on a strong judiciary and an independent public prosecutor’s office.
