raised serious concerns about the impartiality of the police and further 

damaged the image of the police, according to U.S. and donor officials. 

Because of growing U.S. concerns about the events surrounding the May 

2000 elections, the U.S. government had suspended most of this assistance 

by September 2000. Only the U.S. Coast Guard and the Drug Enforcement 

Administration continue to work with and provide some assistance to their 

counterparts within the Haitian police.

The Haitian government is unlikely to sustain much of the progress made 

possible by the U.S. assistance provided to the Haitian police, according to 

U.S. and other donor officials. According to these officials, Haiti has limited 

resources to continue the activities supported by U.S. assistance. It is 

unlikely that the Haitian government will receive assistance from other 

donors to cover the gap left by the reduction in U.S. assistance.

Assistance Helped Improve 

U.S. assistance also sought to help Haiti improve the effectiveness of 

Certain Aspects of the 

existing judicial organizations and enhance the access of the population to 

Judicial Sector

justice. It also sought to help Haiti develop and implement a broad reform 

of the judicial sector that would, for instance, enhance the independence of 

the sector, modernize criminal codes, and restructure judicial organization 

and processes. 

U.S. assistance to the judicial sector totaled almost $27 million from fiscal 

years 1993 through 2000. USAID, its contractors, and the Department of 

Justice's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and 

Training provided most of this assistance under the USAID Administration 

of Justice Program. The bulk of the assistance, about $23 million, funded 

(1) administrative enhancements for judicial institutions, such as case 

registration systems for the justice of the peace courts

6

 and prosecutors' 

offices; (2) judge and prosecutor training; and (3) the establishment and 

operation of the magistrate school. The remaining assistance, $4 million, 

funded legal assistance and education as a means of improving the access 

of the population to justice.

6

 The Haitian court structure has four major levels. From the lowest level to the highest 

level, they include more than 180 justice of the peace courts, 15 first instance courts, 5 

appellate courts, and a Supreme Court. Appendix III describes the Haitian justice system 

organization.

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