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Paraguay The Criminal Justice System
In practice the criminal justice system was composed of two
parallel structures. The first comprised the formal legal system
set forth in the Constitution and in numerous statutes that
provided for an independent judiciary and that specified legal
procedures
(see The Judiciary
, ch. 4). The second system was one in
which political and economic clout determined the outcome of
conflict resolution. When the two structures clashed, the second
was generally perceived to prevail. The widespread perception that
the criminal justice system was susceptible to economic and
political manipulation meant that few people were willing to
confront police, military, or political authority.
Data as of December 1988
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