In a 1 March 1996 telephone interview with the DIRB, a director of the judicial sciences department at the Instituto de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Centroamericana Simeón Cañas (IDHUCA) in San Salvador, stated that the position of Secretary of the Justice of Peace exists.

The source added that the position is filled by law students in their final year of study at the Law faculty. The students must undertake a written exam and go through interviews with a judge at the Supreme Court of Justice. Both the written test and oral interview are aimed at evaluating the student's knowledge of Salvadoran law and jurisprudence.

The source mentioned that the duties fulfilled by the Secretary of the Justice of Peace are to serve as an aide to the magistrate, take witness declarations and gather information on the cases submitted to the court. The source stated that there are currently eleven Justices of Peace in El Salvador and each of them employ secretaries of Justice.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted by the DIRB for this Response to Information Request.

Reference

Instituto de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Centroamericana Simeón Cañas (IDHUCA), San Salvador. 1 March 1996. Telephone interview with the director of judicial sciences department.

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International Report. Yearly. New York: Amnesty International.

Bulletin of the International Commission of Jurists [Geneva]. Monthly.

Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Bulletin [Geneva]. Monthly.

Central America Newspak [Austin, Tex.]. Bi-monthly.

Central America Report [Guatemala City]. Weekly.

Central America Update [Toronto]. Monthly.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. U.S. Department of State. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. New York: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports. Daily.

Human Rights Watch. Yearly. Human Rights Watch World Report. New York: Human Rights Watch.

Indexed Media Review (IMR)

Keesing's Record of World Events. Yearly. Edited by Roger East. London: Longman.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. Weekly.

Latin America Update [Washington]. Monthly.

Latin American Regional Reports: Central America and Caribbean Report [London].

NACLA Report on the Americas. Monthly.

News from Americas Watch [New York]. Monthly.

World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties. 1987. 2nd ed.

Oral sources.