|
Haiti Governmental Institutions
Avril's military government administered the country
through
a cabinet that included thirteen ministerial portfolios as
of
mid-1989. The most powerful of these posts was the
Ministry of
Interior and National Defense, which combined
administrative
responsibilities over the nation's armed forces and the
police.
As of mid-1989, no legislative body existed in Haiti.
A number of military and civil jurisdictions existed
throughout Haiti. The jurisdictional system resulted in
preferential treatment for the government of
Port-au-Prince over
the rest of the country. Most institutions were
concentrated in
the capital city. Moreover, the military either ran or
dominated
the most elaborate institutions.At the level of
departments
(départements) and rural communal sections, a
military
office served as the sole government representative. Thus,
both
the largest and the smallest subdivisions were exclusively
military jurisdictions.
Furthermore, the structure of jurisdictions and the
distribution of government institutions were generally
asymmetrical. The military subdivisions of departments
(i.e.,
districts, subdistricts, and guard posts) did not
correspond to
civil jurisdictions such as counties
(arrondissements) or
municipalities. Units identified as police functioned only
in
Port-au-Prince. The technical ministries, such as
agriculture or
public health, generally did not maintain offices at the
level of
municipalities or rural communal sections. At the
municipality
level, the most widely diffused national civil institution
was
the tax office. In any case, most people in Haiti lived in
rural
sections, where the civil functions of government were
virtually
nonexistent.
Under transitional military government, the judiciary
did not
function as the Constitution directed. Moreover, the
formal
structure of the judiciary was in a state of flux. The
Haitian
judiciary had usually had a marginal relationship to
society, and
it had generally failed to protect the rights of citizens.
The
masses of the citizenry were largely excluded from the
duly
constituted system of courts and due process. Under the
dictatorial rule of François Duvalier, the court system
was
virtually suspended.
Haiti derived the formal aspects of its legal system
from
Roman law, the Napoleonic Code, and the French system of
civil
law. The highest court, the Court of Cassation, consisted
of a
president, a vice president, and ten judges. It functioned
in two
chambers, with five judges in each but it would function
as a
whole when it heard appeals and pleas of the
unconstitutionality
of laws and decrees. Judges of the Court of Cassation had
to be
at least thirty years old, had to have practiced law for
at least
ten years, and had to have held the position of judge or
public
attorney for at least seven years.
Below the Court of Cassation were four courts of
appeal,
located in Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes, Gonaïves, and
Cap-Haïtien.
The court at Port-au-Prince had a president and five
judges,
whereas the others had a president and four judges. These
courts
heard both civil and criminal cases, including all appeals
from
courts of first instance and criminal appeals from justice
of the
peace courts when a serious matter was involved. To be
appointed
to these courts, judges had to have been either judges of
courts
of first instance for three years or military advocates
for at
least ten years.
Courts of first instance were either civil tribunals or
criminal tribunals. Both were located in major cities.
Each court
had one judge and various other officers. These courts
heard many
first-instance civil cases and all criminal cases other
than
police matters. Judges in these courts were required to
have
practiced law for at least two years.
The justice of the peace courts were located in each of
the
country's 126 municipalities and in other places. Each
court had
at least one judge and other officials. According to the
law, a
justice of the peace was required to have a law degree, to
be at
least twenty-five years old, to be in full enjoyment of
civil and
political rights, and to have completed a probationary
period of
at least one year. These courts heard all cases involving
limited
amounts of money, including first-instance cases. They
also
handled landlord and tenant cases. Their jurisdiction in
criminal
matters extended only to cases where the penalty did not
exceed
six months in jail
(see The Legal Framework
, ch. 10).
In addition, there were special courts that dealt with
administrative contracts, property rights, juveniles, and
labor
conflicts.
The president of Haiti appointed all judges. Those in
the
Court of Cassation and the courts of appeal served ten
years; the
others served seven years.
Data as of December 1989
|
