Sample Projects

WPI team member bring years of successful experience on landmark and highly rated projects through their association with otoerh development firms including DPK Consulting and Tetra Tech. Team members have worked in almost every country in Latin America to assist and support them in the historic transition to the new accusatory oral based criminal procedures codes which have now been adopted and serve to protect human rights as well as more effectively process criminal matters.

In their project work, WPI team members have served in all field capacities including as chiefs of party, objective leads, operational and finance directors. Through our data base of proven experts, we also can call on experts in judicial processes, improving prosecutorial effectiveness including investigations of crimes, and also supporting the effective public defense of those accused of crimes. Team members have been associated with some of the landmark advances in the use of information technology to track cases, provide needed data, and improve access to justice for all. In the area of public integrity, team members have been at the forefront of introducing institutional integrity models designed to reenforce positive behavior within institutions and ensure that government operations are both transparent and accountable.

In the following are brief highlights of some of the projects on which WPI team members were key to project success.

Argentina: Improve the Operation of the Argentine Courts, Including Strengthening the Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (USAID)

Worked in the federal and provincial court systems to modernize the justice system
Developed alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs in the Ministry of Justice
Passage of legislation that requires civil disputes to go through an initial ADR process
Helped to forma Fundación Libra, an institution dedicated to promoting ADR programs not only in Argentina but throughout Latin America
Developed judicial education and policy programs in the provinces of Argentina, including the creation of an association of provincial chief judges.

Bangladesh: Legal and Judicial Capacity Building and Performance Monitoring Project (The World Bank)

Built the capacity of Bangladeshi counterparts to implement reforms by providing advisory services to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and other designated project counterparts
Assisted counterparts through technical support in the fields of court administration and court management information systems
Helped revise procedural codes and rules, implement a modern code of conduct and performance standards for judges and staff, computerize and install information systems, provide training and upgrade training facilities, and improve court infrastructure.

Bulgaria: Open Government Initiative (USAID)

Strengthened the institutional capacity of the Bulgarian government to prevent corruption and to enhance transparency and accountability
Supported the establishment of inspector general units (internal audit) in select government agencies
Strengthened the audit capacity of the National Audit Office and the Public Internal Financial Control Agency through greater use of technology, focused training programs, and adoption of international standards and best practices
Improved procurement systems, including legislative amendments and the use of on-line procurement to expand access and ensure transparency in procurement processes
Increased citizen involvement in the anti-corruption process through public awareness campaigns, university education programs, and public-private partnerships involving the business community.

Dominican Republic: Strengthening Rule of Law, Respect for Human Rights and Public Sector Anticorruption (USAID)

Promoted inter-institutional planning in the justice sector
Strengthened the Attorney General’s Office, Public Ministry, Supreme Court
Strengthened lower courts and public defense lawyers through technical assistance, introduction of new management models and training
Helped develop national government integrity and anticorruption plan
Assisted in strengthening prosecution of corruption cases.

Ecuador: Modernization of the Civil and Criminal Trial Courts (World Bank)

Helped to implement new programs and organizational structures for the trial courts, including centralized clerks’ offices, automated case tracking programs, improved public access to case information, delay reduction, improved case processing, and other administrative support elements
Designed and implemented a case management system (CMS)
Supported long-range planning for the activities and directions of the reform movement and the creation of a core of trainers and internal consultants to carry the reforms forward
Established and monitored pilot projects established to implement the new organization and procedures recommended
Worked directly with local technical committees to ensure that the solutions developed were appropriate for the local environment.

El Salvador: Implementation of the Criminal Procedures and Penal Codes (USAID)

Supported implementation of new criminal procedures and penal codes, and increased the use of ADR mechanisms
Carried out training and technical analyses on the content of rules of evidence and needed modifications to the codes for the judicial branch, prosecutors, public defenders, judicial training school, selected law schools, non-profit organizations, and the media
Worked to consolidate the criminal procedures law reforms, further develop the rules of evidence within the criminal procedure code, and improve training capabilities in the criminal procedures area
Worked with civil society organizations and the media to increase public awareness of the new codes and the new rights the codes provide.

El Salvador: Prosecutorial Training Project (USAID)

Provided training and technical assistance to prosecutors to assist them in assuming their new roles under the new criminal procedures code
Trained prosecutors in the application of basic trial advocacy and litigation skills and provided focused training in the area of investigations and the need for coordination with other justice sector agencies, such as the police
Provided technical assistance in developing materials such as annotated codes and manuals for prosecutors
Provided technical assistance in use of plea bargaining
Developed procedures to ensure the use of alternatives to full trial proceedings.

Guatemala: Transition to a New Criminal Justice System (USAID)

Assisted the judicial branch and the Public Ministry in the implementation of the new oral-based, criminal procedure code
Provided organizational and procedural advice
Improved legal education through curriculum reform
Established several pilot court projects, where new procedural, organizational, and administrative systems were introduced that promoted the decentralization of the administration of the criminal justice policy
Provided specific technical assistance in reorganizing the case initiation process, automating the criminal courts in case intake, maintaining case histories and calendars, improving the availability and level of interpreter services, and developing bench books and other operational manuals
Worked with the law faculty of San Carlos University’s law school to adapt the curriculum to the new procedure code.

Honduras: Transition to the New Criminal Procedures Code and Reorganization and Introduction of Case Management in Lower Courts (USAID)

Provided assistance throughout the justice sector in the transition to an oral-based criminal procedures system
Introduced s new organizational structures and case-flow management techniques in trial courts that apply under the new procedure code
Supported public awareness campaign throughout civil society
Helped increase efficiency in the processing of cases, increased procedural transparency, and reduced case delay
Conducted a case purging program that resulted in the purging of almost 40 percent of the pending criminal caseload.

Kosovo: Court Administration Strengthening (USAID)

Implemented a program to develop an overall strategy and new policies for the structure of the judicial branch under a Kosovar government to ensure that there is proper administrative support for the trial courts
Developed administrative systems to improve budgetary, financial, personnel, procurement, security, and physical facility management
Provided assistance in courthouse facilities management and design
Designed a model courthouse in Kamenica, which is now serving as a model for new court organization.

Macedonia: Court Modernization and Judicial Reform Projects (USAID)

Strengthened judicial independence
Worked to introduce delay reduction programs
Carried out analysis of the legal framework of courts and helped to draft needed code revisions
Provided technical assistance on court automation and judicial statistics
Supported needed programs in judicial and non-judicial training
Introduced the concept of professional court managers
Helped draft and implement an independent judicial branch budget ensuring greater self-control and judicial independence.

Pakistan: Modernization of the Justice System (Asian Development Bank)

Designed and implemented a court modernization program
Provided assistance in areas such as judicial reform, court administration, case-flow management, alternative dispute resolution, and budgetary and financial management in the courts
Designed a modern system of judicial statistics and annual reports, as well as the development of financial governance criteria for judicial administration
Conducted pilot projects on the management information systems and delay reduction components in more than100 courts resulting in improved productivity from 30 to 250 percent as measured in dispositions per judge.

Peru: Introduction of New Organizational and Administrative Models and Automation in the Trial Courts (Government of Peru)

Assisted to modernize the organization, processes, and administration of the judicial branch in Peru by developing new organizational structures for the civil courts, including the establishment of centralized clerks’ offices
Conducted long-range planning for specific technical assistance in judicial statistics
Created workload indicators
Developed delay reduction programs
Developed systems of records management
Assisted in facilities design
Project resulted in a significant increase in dispositions and reduction in pending caseload in the 35 participating pilot courts
Dispositions increased by 55 percent from 1996 to 1997, while cases declined by 25 percent.

West Bank and Gaza: Modernization of the Administration of Justice (USAID)

Defined the judicial branch’s framework for establishing its policy and administration in this emerging judicial system
Worked with the newly established judicial council to define how policies would be established and to provide the administrative support functions to the judiciary
Worked with counterparts to unify judicial systems, codes and procedures of the courts in West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Provided assistance to trial courts on criminal and civil procedures, court automation, case processing, delay reduction, and records management
Developed automated case management software, and procured automation equipment, vehicles, books, and other supplies for courts, prosecutors, and law schools
Provided in-service training on court administration for judges, court personnel, and prosecutors.