Appendix III

The Haitian Justice System Organization

Appendix 

III

Under the President of Haiti, the Prime Minister controls 14 ministries, 

including the Ministry of Justice. In turn, the Ministry of Justice controls 

the police, the judicial sector, and the prisons. The current Haitian 

constitution was adopted in 1987 and established a national government 

with three independent branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. 

However, despite the constitutional mandate for an independent judicial 

sector, the executive branch, through the Ministry of Justice, continues to 

control this sector.

The Haitian Ministry of 

The Minister of Justice heads the Ministry of Justice. In 1996, the ministry 

Justice

had about 400 employees; however, this number has declined in recent 

years, according to a U.N. study. Most of these employees were involved in 

administrative tasks, and few of them were experienced lawyers. The 

ministry, with support from Canada, was until recently working to improve 

its human resources by hiring professionals and training its personnel. 

However, this effort is not likely to continue at the same levels now 

because Canada has reduced most of its assistance to the ministry. The 

Minister also controls the functioning of the Haitian National Police, the 

prisons, and the judicial sector, including the courts and the prosecutor's 

offices. 

The Haitian Police

A Director General heads the Haitian National Police, which was 

established in December 1994. The Director General controls the offices of 

the police, including the Central Directorate for the Judicial Police and the 

Inspector General.

1

 The Judicial Police is a specialized unit that conducts 

criminal investigations and works with prosecutors and investigating 

magistrates. The Director General also controls the Haitian Coast Guard.

According to Haitian police records, the Haitian police has 5,892 officers. 

However, this police force is smaller, according to U.S., Haitian, and other 

donor officials. Estimates about the size of this force range from 3,500 to 

4,500 police officers.

Following Haiti's return to democracy in 1994, the Haitian armed forces 

were disbanded. About 3,000 former soldiers became part of the 4,000 

member Interim Public Security Force that was mandated to maintain 

1

 The Inspector General also reports directly to the Minister of Justice.

Page 35

GAO 01 24  Foreign Assistance