Appendix III

The Haitian Justice System Organization

public safety until a new Haitian police force could be trained and 

deployed. In early 1996, this interim force was dismantled when the 

training and deployment of a new civilian controlled police was complete. 

Few former soldiers who served in the interim force were among the 6,500 

individuals who became members of the new force.

Subsequently, other former soldiers joined the Haitian police, particularly 

at the higher ranks. Confronted in 1996 with a limited pool of talent from 

which to draw mid level police commanders and facing vacancies in

85 percent of the positions, the Haitian government began incorporating 

into these positions former soldiers who had been cleared from human 

rights violations. The U.N. International Civilian Mission in Haiti monitored 

this process, according to the Department of State. By 1999, several 

hundred former soldiers had assumed leadership positions throughout the 

police hierarchy. According to the Department of State, the reported 

number of former soldiers in the Haitian police is close to 1,000.

Since 1997, the Director General has controlled the Haitian prisons. Haiti 

has 19 prisons. The main prison the national penitentiary is located in 

Port au Prince. The Haitian prison population grew from 2,691 prisoners in 

December 1996 to 3,852 prisoners in December 1999. The national 

penitentiary population grew from 972 prisoners to 1,831 prisoners during 

the same period.

Haitian Judicial Sector

Haiti's judicial sector applies the Napoleonic Codes in effect in France in 

the early 1800s. The Haitian Criminal Code which defines crimes and 

specifies punishments dates back to 1832. The Code of Criminal 

Procedure which establishes rules for arresting, investigating, and 

prosecuting people accused of a criminal offense was enacted in 1835. 

Although these codes have been amended, they remain outdated, according 

to U.S. and Haitian officials. The Code Civil, the Code de Lois Usuelles, and 

the Code of Civil Procedure cover civil matters and procedures.

Several recent legal texts, including the Haitian constitution of 1987, define 

the administration of justice and general court structure, in which judges, 

prosecutors, investigating magistrates, defendants, lawyers, paralegals, and 

judicial police officers interact. This structure has four major levels, and 

the courts in these levels hear criminal, civil, and commercial cases. From 

the lowest level to the highest level, they include the justice of the peace 

courts, the first instance courts, the appellate courts, and the Supreme 

Court.

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