Comparative law and justice/Peru

Part of the Comparative law and justice Wikiversity Project

Lgomez 7938 22:56, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Practical Information
Peru is considered by many as one of the most beautiful places in the world. This country, located in South America, has a unique geography. With an abundance of mountains, exotic jungles, and enormous valleys, Peru is rich in culture. Peru is divided into three regions, its coastal area, highlands, and jungles. The Coastal area in which is next to the Pacific Ocean contains fertile valleys, various deserts, and gorgeous beaches. The Highlands have enormous mountains, such as the Andes Mountains. These mountains can be as high as 6.768 meters above sea level. The third part of Peru is divided by tropical jungles in which much of its vegetation is produced.



"* Inhabitants: ~ 32.897.070


 * Area of Peru: 1.285.220 km² (496.226 square miles)
 * Currency: Nuevo Sol (PEN)
 * Spoken languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymará
 * Borders with: Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador
 * Capital: Lima
 * Seat of the congress/parliament: Lima
 * Seat of the government: Lima
 * Head of State and Government Chief: Martín Vizcarra
 * Typical products: fish and fish products, gold, copper, zinc, petroleum, coffee, sugar, cotton
 * Voltage: 220 V / 60 Hz
 * Telephone prefix number, Peru phone country code: +51
 * Time Zone: GMT/UTC -5 hours" (This Data was copied form the Webpage SpanishCourses)

Demography characteristics have decreased through the years in the country of Peru. With smaller percentages of fertility and mortality, the countries birth rate has decreased over one-fourth of its 1975 levels and the death rates have deduced by half. Because of this reason, people ages 15-64 are allowed to work. The population of Peru is still indigenous. 70 percent of the people that live in rural areas, which are considered indigenous, have more income and more resources than those that live in the cities.

Like most parts of the world, Peru's religion varies and has multiplied over the years. Christianity is a religion that has grown and expanded through the world. Even so, Roman Catholicism continues to be the official religion of Peru. In 2003, a study shows that there are 81 percent of people that are Roman Catholic in this country.

Quick History
Peru has an immense history. The Inca empire had established in Peru, also known as one of the biggest empires. However, the Incas were not the first humans to have lived in Peru, the indigenous people were. After 2500 BC, it was proven that indigenous people inhabited Peru. Through studies, it was proven that because of the climate change in Peru, the indigenous people and their culture were obligated to move. Nature's forces moved them to other lands that were more fertile and where there were more thriving rivers and valleys. Through this change, the indigenous people, or as they are more well known as the antique Peruvian, started to evolve. Some of the new cultures that were developed included the Chavin and the Sechin. The Chavian culture is recognized today because of its creative religion, which was known for using figurative depictions of various animals. The Sechin grew to focus more about military and did not focus about their culture or religion.

After time passed, the Chevin and the Sechin population started decreasing, causing their culture to become less popular and giving an opportunity for other cultures to rise. New cultures, such as the Saliner and the Paraca, which where a major advancement for Peru, brought technological and artistic structure to the country. Today, the inventions of these tribes seem minute when compared to the accomplishments of the Inca civilization. The Inca tribe was no different from other tribes, however, it started to grow until it became a very powerful empire. By the year 1430, the Incas controlled 1 million square kilometers of Peru. Inca’s are well known today for their complex artwork creations such as architecture made from a lot of gold, with most of their creations located in Machu Picchu and are still standing today.

Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end. The Inca Empire was driven out by the Spanish conquistadors through a powerful war. The war lasted for seven years, but in the end, the Spanish prevailed.

For the reasons stated above, this is why there are now so many different cultures in Peru. Even though the Spanish conquered Peru, a lot of the traditions and cultures stayed in the lives and hearts of the Peruvian people. Many still, until this day, speak their original language, even of the national language is Spanish.

Economic Development, Health, and Education
According to Canadian International Development Agency, Peru's priority, like the United States, is to focus on securing its land through democracy, stability, security, and human rights. Because of the country's discipline, their economy has been one of the best in South America in recent years. Through the past few years, Peru has been hit with an economic crisis, however, since the slow of domestic product, their falling economy has not had such an impact because of the macroeconomic fundamentals and their anti-crisis plan; the economy in Peru has recuperated rapidly. Even though Peru seems perfect when looking at the beautiful geography, rich history, and stable economy, the country is not meeting its standards when it comes to education, which is one of the biggest problems for the country as a whole. Peru’s education is categorized as having the worst quality among Latin America and the whole Caribbean. According to CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency), the government has made this problem a priority to improve. Their plan is to target the rural areas so that more kids can get into schools and women and indigenous groups can get the opportunity to be educated also. If this plan goes into effect, the future of this country will look much brighter.

Government
Government in Peru is somewhat similar to the United States. Peru, like the United States, fought for its independence and obtained freedom on July 28th, 1821. After its independence was obtained, leaders of the country decided that the countries ideology was going to be based on democracy, which means that the country will be based on people's rights and duties. After this decision had been made, leaders of the country decided to create a document that ought to respected that separation power. The paperwork lead to the Legislative Branch, the Judicial Branch, and the Executive Branch. This document, like the United States, is called The Constitution of the Republic of Peru. The Constitutionl After many discussions between leaders of Peru, General Jose de San Martin discussed what the Constitution would include. The fist official copy of the constitution was written in the year 1822. The document needed to be edited many times, especially for the voting purposes. Issues such as Nominal Democracy between the years of 1822-1895, Literate Masculine Democracy between the years of 1931-1955, Literate Mixed Democracy between the years of 1956-1978, and the Universal Democracy which were from 1979-to date caused a change in the document. In 1993, the congress of Peru accepted the statement that everyone had the right to vote as long they are 21 years of age. "These rights aim at benefiting traditionally excluded sectors of the population, making it possible citizens’ participation in the decision-making process, and integrating them into the conduction of our national destiny."

Today, the county of Peru follows Direct Democracy, which means that the people are ought to elect their former representatives and their president. Peru can turn into a country in which its democracy can be represented, in other words a country exactly like the United States, in which representatives of the government are who truly elect our president. According to J.C. Madroñal, the problem that comes from government is that Direct Democracy is not truly fellowed in this country. He states that this might be due to the fact that this regulations were recently integrated in their government.

Elections
As a Proportional Representational country, the people are allowed to elect their president more than once. The role of Vice President utilizes the same concept, but he cannot take constitutional actions unless the president cannot fulfill his responsibility.

After the constitution was created, voters where oppressed and where giving regulations on who was able to vote. This constitution did not address peoples' rights or at least it was not taken in to consideration. These where some of the regulations:

"1.	Local authorities prepared the electoral register.

2.	Citizens with voting rights went to hear a mass in honor of the Holy Spirit, after which they elected the members of the polling stations.

3.	Once a table was set up, its members determined the number of voters who, in each district, made up an electoral college.

4.	The voters, in the capital of provinces, should choose among candidates to senators, representatives and the presidency o f the republic. These acts were real pitched battles in which groups of mercenaries fought to take control of the voting tables by force. The defeated groups submitted to Congress a “duality” (second alternate result) or a “triality” (third alternate result).

5.	The only voting control unit was the Congress itself. Each of the houses assessed the credentials of those chosen to join them. Their decisions were mainly based on political criteria, a vice that worsened with the 1860 Constitution, which prescribed the congressional renewal by thirds, since the ruling majoritthe right to vote is exercised by all Peruvians older than twenty-one years of age, or married younger than that age, who can read and write, and are registered in the Civic Register of their domicile.”y, through this mechanism, sought to keep control of the respective house." (This Data was copied form the Webpage Historical Outline of the Congress)

After some time, this type of regulation was revised and the right to vote was exercised by all "Peruvians older than twenty-one years of age, or married younger than that age, who can read and write, and are registered in the Civic Register of their domicile.”

Judicial Review
Peru's 'executive' body is lead by President, Alberto Kenyo Fujimori. The President is chief of the the state and head of the government. Peru's President is appointed to a cabinet, which is called the Council of Ministers. It consist of 17 members, who follow the creation in 2010 of a ministry of culture. These members of the executive body are appointed by the president who must be pointed to the congress. Every law that is passed must be reviewed by the Council of Ministers. Ministers don't have much power in the Executive Branch, so all power lies on the President.

The 'Legislative' Branch consists of 120 Members in congress; their task is to pass laws, endorse treaties, look over the government budget as well as approving it, and consenting government loans.

The third wing of the Peruvian government is the 'Judiciary'. The Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia is the sole functioning judicial body in Peru. The Judicial Branch is held by 16 members in the Supreme court. This system consists of a Constitutional Tribunal. Superior court and Court of First instance. Constitutional Tribunal duty is to follow the Constitution to protects individuals rights. Superior court is where or the revisions and appellations of decisions from lowers courts are made.

Courts and Criminal Law
Peru functions under the Civil Law system.

The following are the duties of each court system in Peru. Although these are not the exact names of the different legal courts, they give a general information that might help understand. Further in the page it will be explain the different legal structures.

"Civil Courts: have jurisdiction over all topics relating to Civil Rights excluding Family Law.

Criminal Courts: have jurisdiction over crimes and other topics relating to Criminal law.

Labor Courts: have jurisdiction over topics relating to Labor law.

Family Courts: have jurisdiction over topics relating to Family law.

Commercial Courts: have jurisdiction over topics relating to Commercial law"

Court Structure
Peru's court is organized in to five levels; Courts of Justices of the Peace, Courts of formally qualified Justices of the Peace, Courts of Special Jurisdiction, Superior Courts, Supreme Court, and Constitutional Court. (These categories are explained in the table below). The court system in Peru has a judiciary that is organized by 27 court circuits or judicial circuits. These circuits or districts are composed by geographic political boundaries of the departments that make up the country. Its is the Executive council of this country who decides the policies and creates the plan of the Judiciary.

(This Data was copied form the Webpage from IFES RU L E OF LAW OC C A S ION A L PA P E R SE R I E. )

Adversarial -VS- Inquisitorial System
Since the Constitution of Peru and its democratic rules came to effect in this country, a lot of people have been trying to change their legal system from Inquisitorial to an Adversarial system. Inquisitorial system, means that this system is controlled by the judges or investigators who collect evidence to get to the case truths, this process may take months very often even years of very confidential evidence to eventually be revealed and for the judge to decide on a case. Adversarial system allow their trials to be more open, defendants are allowed to hear evidence against them, lawyers are more involve in the trial and judges have to base their decisions of the evidence presented by the lawyers.

According to Marcela Sanchez, legal systems are supposed to make the people of their country feel free and most importantly part of their country, however, the fact that their country is Inquisitorial, excludes people from being part of important hearings.

Legal Personnel
Peru’s court system is designed to protect its people and the peace of the country itself. The court system is composed of several actors that consist of court staff, police, prosecutors, public registrar employees, attorneys and judges. The judge’s role is the most important one in the court system as actors. This is because their responsibility is to guide the court and its process. Judges have the duty to maintain the speed in which the courts run. Judges in Peru are supposed to attend four years of college and are usually appointed for court by the executive branch. For a judge to be apointed for supreme court, he must be at least 45 years old, be a born citizen of Peru, and have a lot of experience in the law.

Lawyers play a significant role in the court system in Peru since they are the ones who defend the rights of the people. The public Ministry (Ministerio Publico) seeks the legal rights for people who are convicted in Peru. The Prosecutor’s office (La Fiscalia) is who investigates crimes and take charge of criminal prosecutions. There are other organizations that help make this task possible by composing 1497 prosecutors in Peru. Another form of seeking human rights is the Peru National Public Defender’s Service, which consists of a body of 256 public defenders in 2002. Their role is to work in conjunction with the police units, Criminal Courts, Specialized Criminal Courts, Family Courts, the military justice system, and the Criminal Prosecutor’s Office.

According to Charles Montaldo, Peru's justice system does not offer its defendants the right to a jury in the trial. Instead trials are held before a panel of three judges.

Peru's justice system does not include a Jury in their trials. However, every defendant is innocent before their sentence. The justice system in Peru is based in the Napoleonic Code. This means that before submitting a case to the court system, prosecutors most investigate evidence that accuses the defendant. After this process, a judge must evaluate the facts and decide if the case is worth proceeding. Like mentioned before, all defendants are presumed innocent so they have the right to a council and witnesses in the trial.

Lawsuits are another part of the Peruvian government. Like the United States, Peru allows its people, especially those who are in business, to get compensated through lawsuits. The law permits Peruvians to file for law sue for personal purposes and injuries.

Punishment
There are several types of punishment in Peru. Punishment such as fines, prison or jail, and the death penalty can be set. In many court systems, the crime suits the punishment, which means you get punish depending on how severe the crime is. According to a survey, many adults in Peru’s capital believe that the death penalty would be appropriate for some circumstances: According to a poll by Apoyo, published in El Comercio, 81 percent of the people that participated in the poll agreed that the death penalty for people who rape minors would be perfectly suitable. The rest of the results are shown on the table bellow.

This Data was copied form the Webpage El Comercio.Visioncritical)

Capital punishment has been abolished in Peru because it is a violation of Peru's Human Rights Law. The abolishment of capital punishment happened in 1979. Peru. like many Latin American countries, signed a pact on to the American Convention of Human Rights. Since this day in history, Peru has not sentenced any prisoner to the death sentence, but many disagree with this decision.

Corporal punishment does not seem like it was used before to torture people because they had committed a crime or because the authority wanted a person to confess. Instead, corporal punishment is used mostly towards children in Peru. This behavior is used at home and in schools as a way to punish kids because of their bad behavior. According to Peter Newel, there shouldn’t be any abuse towards children because it violates their rights as a person. There are many organizations that are trying to stop this behavior in Peru.

According to the Worlds Fact Book, in 2007, Peru's incarceration are 129 per every 35,642 people. Prison conditions in Peru are particularly harsh for prisoners in this country, including woman. There are a total of 71 active number of prisons in Peru. The prisons can holds a total of 44,800 inmates. These prisons' environments are not only harsh, but are also corrupted. Prisoners that have money in Peru have a lot of power, so many prisoners are allowed to have cell-phones and access to illegal drugs. More surprisingly, they have the ability to obtain meals prepared outside the prison. However, prisoners that have no type of funds live completely different lives. Prisons are overcrowded, which means that health care is an issue because of the fact that prisoners are all together, HIV and Tuberculosis are cases that are highly reported in prisons of Peru. Some Prisoners had to even sleep in the halls because of the lack of space. A prison named San Juan de Lurigancho specifically for men, holds in fact 9,874 prisoners in a prison that is meant to be for 3,204 inmates. The country is based on revenge, everyone that does a crime should pay for what he has done. There is not Rehabilitation in this country ether, this my be due to the fact that there is no money to be spend of people the that do the wrong thing. There is rehabilitation for juveniles in the other hand. There is a program in Peru that gives juveniles a 12 to 18 a second chance to redeem there error. This rehabilitation group is called the prison youth. This is not accessible for every teen though, but is a group of 96 inmates who get some kind of education and get to get out of there in 1 to 3 years.

Law Enforcement
Peru’s Law Enforcement is divided into two major structures; the Armed Forces and the Police Force. The Armed Force was created to be responsible for the protection for the country by giving them a defense system. The Armed Force consist of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The Police Force mission is to protect the government and to be guardians for the people. Within the Police Force, there are divisions such as the General Police, Security Police, and Technical Police, which each and one of them have their own tasks and duties in order to protect the country and its people.

Centralized/Decentralized
Peru, like the United States, is Decentralized and Multiple Uncoordinated. Its Like this because of the fact that the law is separated like the Armed Forces and the Police Force and none of them have communication.

Army
The Army is one of the biggest military forces in the year 1992. It had about 75,000 soldiers, 8,000 officers, and 52,000 conscripts. Including both balance technicians and the officers that would not get any commissions (NCOs), during the years the army has become smaller. Because of that reason, some men in Peru are drafted in order to train as military. These men will have to give 2 years of their lives to the Army.

Navy
"As of 1992, the navy had a total complement of 22,000 personnel, including 2,000 officers, 10,000 conscripts, and 3,000 marines. Volunteers included at least fifty enlisted servicewomen in the navy, some with ranks and regular two-year service duties, others with one-day-a-week and Saturday duties for one year. The former could reenlist for additional two-year periods, the latter for one. They performed mostly administrative tasks." <Ita.Navy.

Air force
"The FAP had a total personnel strength of about 15,000 in 1990, including some 7,000 conscripts, with 116 combat aircraft and 24 armed helicopters. This compared with some 10,000 air force personnel in 1980 and 138 combat aircraft. Of Peru's three services, only the FAP had made a significant commitment to include women volunteers in regular enlisted service. As of May 1986, there were 2,100 women in the ranks, including 20 senior airwomen, 60 airwomen first class, 300 airwomen, and 1,720 airwomen basic. Basic training courses were the same as those provided to men. Most women served in administrative positions, including secretarial, teletype, nursing, meteorology, and supply assistance."

General Police
For more imformation

Security Police
For more imformation

Technical Police
For more information

Armed Forces/Police Force Training
The Armed Forces in Peru had to spend about 30 percent of their careers in school. Four or five years are spent in the military academy, one and one-half years in specialization school courses, two years in the ESG, one or two years in intelligence school or study abroad, a year at CAEM, and other special courses of six months to a year. After getting out of military school, candidates, in order to get some kind of position, would have to go under Highly competitive national examinations. After entering the program, a service requires more school training.

Peru’s Police department consist of 29 members, in which one is in charge of the Miami Country Drug task force and three of the 29 members are assigned to the detective Division. These teams of officers are on duty 24 hours a day. A Peruvian Police officer is required to attend the Enforcement Academy for fifteen weeks during in the term of their first year. In the Academy, officers are instructed in different courses like Criminal Law, Emergency Vehicle Operation, and Firearms defense tactics. When completing the academy after the term of fifteen weeks, officers are put in probation stutus for the term of one year to see if he or she is eligible. During that year of probations officers are put in field training for three months. After one gets a job, he or she is required to have training every year after their graduation from the Academy.

Corruption
According to Corruption Perception Index 2010 Under the scale From 1 to 10, 1 being the most corrupted, for corruption Peru falls under the Category 3.5.

Crime Rates and Public Opinion
Peru’s Crime Rate is high because of the raised economic crisis from the year 1980 and the new impositions that the Judicial Branch demanded upon the government in which it mandated 2 percent of the government budget. The cause of these crimes raised because there were a lot of people left unemployed. Recorded crimes of all types increased from 210,357 in 1980 to 248,670 in 1986 (18 percent). Another thing that caused the rise of crime was the fact that a lot of officers where killed or fired. Crimes like murders and drug trafficking raised tremendously. 1980 and 1986 increased by 67 percent, almost four times the rate of growth of crime overall. According to research, Peru is one of the countries in South America that has the heighest crime rate. Based on data, in 2006, Peru occupied first place in crime compared to others countries in South America. In 2010, crime rates continued to increase, making Peru the second highest place of crime compared to places like Argentina, El Salvador, and Venezuela. According to Nation Master, typical crime in the country of Peru are drug Offences, car theft, robberies with fire arms, frauds, and murder with fire arms. Data states that 4,359 per 100,000 people commit a drug offence in Peru.

A good amount of the population of Peru states that they have been victims of some type of assault at least once in their lives. According to Julio F. Carrión and Patricia Zárat, creators of the article 'Cultura Politica de la Democracia en Peru', victimization in Peru has increased quite a lot in the past four years. Their data show the percentage that has increased almost ten percent since 2006. In a survey that was conducted, 22 percent of the people who participated stated that they have been victims of crime inside their own homes. This indeed is causing a lot of insecurity in the country due to the fact that the population is not feeling safe.

Family Law
Family law in Peru, like any other country, has regulations and rules including marriage, divorce, and adoption. Adoption in Peru is a little complicated under the Peruvian law because there is no direct adoption. In order for a child to be adopted, they must be abandoned. From there, the court assigns adoptive parents to the the abandoned kids. Marrying in Peru is not difficult, especially if you are an America citizen. The regulation for an American citizen to marry in Peru consists of a sworn statement (known locally as a certificado de solteria). This basically states that they are legally free to marry in Peru. Another regulation that is required is a legalized copy of their birth certificate that must be translated into Spanish. For citizens of Peru, they would have to get married under the regulations of Peru Civil registration. This means that an event like this is to be recorded by the government. This process goes by registering the marriage by giving the the marriage date and the couple’s names, ages, places of residence, and sometimes, places of birth. Sometimes this processed even requires the names of their the parents and witnesses of those are getting married.

Divorce, on the other hand, can be done by a representative. In the case of one living outside Peru, one can get the power of an attorney to present a divorce or judicial separation sue before the appropriate judge. Sometimes people would move to other countries, leaving the processes, thinking that they could postpone it, however this is not so easy. Issues like the one mentioned below can affect many in the divorce process. “

"Article 333 of the Civil Code

The following are common causes of judicial separation (personal separation). 1.	Adultery.

2.	Physical and psychological violence which the judge will evaluate according to the circumstances.

3.	Attempting to murder the spouse.

4.	A big offense that makes each other lives unbearable.

5.	Unjustified abandon ot the house for more that two continuous year or when adding the time the spouse has abandon exceeds the two years period.

6.	The embarrassing behavior that makes each other unbearable.

7.	The habit of using drugs or toxics that lead to addiction except the case mentioned in the article 347.

8.	Illness or STD transmitted after the marriage.

9.	Becoming homosexual after the marriage.

10.	A final judgment given for intentional crime that leads to punishment for two years, after the celebration of the wedding.

11.	When it is impossible to live together and get alone for cause probed in a judicial process.

12.	The separation of the spouses during an interrupted period of two years. This time will be of four years if the spouses have minors. In these cases the article 335 will not take effect.

13.	The agreement of separation stated by both after two years of marriage.”

Unfortunately, not everyone in Peru has the ability or the right to get married, especially partners of the same sex. Under the Peruvian law, it is illegal to marry someone of the same sex. However, there have been exceptions to the rule. A couple in Peru was able to get married in Peru under the British law. What this means is that if you try, you can manipulate the system.

A big part of the family law is about who gets what in terms of inheritance. The law of Peru states that if both parents die in a family, goods and property must be delivered in equals parts to the inheritors. In most cases, sons and daughters of those who have died. This type of case, under the law, is primarily handled by lawyers.

Human Rights
Human rights is one of the must controversial subject, not only in Peru, but around the world also. As humans are becoming more educated and more aware of the injustice activities that go on in the world, they demand to be treated with respect and dignity. In the country of Peru, with in the legal system, there are fundamentals rights in which are protected by the law Constitution of the Republic of Peru is the document in which a lot of rules for the country are implemented including the Human Rights. This document states facts like in the first article. It is highly abstracted and states that everyone should follow it, and if not, they would be charged by the law. It includes statements such as, "The protection of the individual and respect for his dignity are the supreme goal of society and the government." . This document focuses the two first articles of Human Rights. Article two goes more into details to what a humans have legal rights to. One example of these rights is "to equality before the law. No one may be discriminated against because of his origin, race, sex, language, religion, opinion, economic status, or any other reason." . The question here is are such rights being violated in the country of Peru?

Social Inequality
Amnesty, an organization in which defenses human right all over the world, states that there is discrimination and inequality between people in Peru. In fact, the country is facing a lot of violence because of the fact that they want to take land from the indigenous people but they say that that goes against their rights. So far, a lot of people and police officers have died because of the violence that this problem is causing. The key point is that discrimination is under the law, as in no one is allowed to discriminate. However, this such thing is happening all over the world. Discrimination is caused because of factors such as race, ethnicity, nationality, class, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or health status. .