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Protecting Human Rights: The Legitimacy of Judicial System Reforms in EL Salvador
Author(s) -
JACKSON D. W.,
DODSON J. M.,
O'SHAUGHNESSY L. NUZZI
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
bulletin of latin american research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.24
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1470-9856
pISSN - 0261-3050
DOI - 10.1111/j.1470-9856.1999.tb00142.x
Subject(s) - legitimacy , human rights , political science , law and economics , judicial reform , law , sociology , politics
— Research on democratic transitions in Latin America often ignore the importance of judicial systems — and related institutions — in achieving ‘liberal democracy’ and effectively safeguarding human rights, as contrasted with the restoration of ‘electoral democracy.’ This proves especially problematic in the instances of the former military‐dominated authoritarian regimes of Central America. This article examines the efforts at judicial system and related reforms in EL Salvador since the 1992 Peace Accords, and relates those reforms to popular perceptions, both of previous institutions and of the institutional reforms and new institutions that have been created as part of the peace‐making process. The reported survey research results suggest that the reforms on which liberal democracy in El Salvador depends, while generally viewed positively in the abstract, still rest on shaky foundations.