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Last Updated: Feb 6, 2017 - 2:32:04 PM |
Argentina
opened today in the province of Salta the first Drug Treatment Court
(DTC) in the country, in a pilot program developed with the support of
the Organization of American States (OAS) through the Inter-American
Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD). The South American country joined
the United States, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Canada,
Chile, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Panama, Colombia, the Bahamas
and Barbados, among others, in the use of this model for the treatment
of drug-related crimes.
The DTC opened in the Distrito Judicial del Centro de la
Provincia, through the Fifth Circuit Court of Guarantees and the
Magistrate's Court of the Second Nomination in Transition. These courts
will provide alternative criminal proceedings within the justice system
for drug dependent offenders.
The Court of Justice of Salta established that those offenders
charged with suspended sentences pending evidence they suffer from an
addiction and who have committed a misdemeanor may enter the program.
Their participation will be voluntary and under court supervision.
Treatment will continue for the time for which they had agreed to
suspend the sentence and, if successful, the sentence will be erased.
The duration of treatment may be extended within pre-established limits.
This model is being implemented in ever increasing number of
countries in the Hemisphere thanks to the leadership and commitment of
the various OAS member states, and the direct support of the Executive
Secretariat of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission of the
OAS. Assigned to the DTC of Salta are the judges Héctor Martínez (Fifth
Circuit Court of Guarantees) and Pablo Arancibia (Magistrate's Court of
the Second Nomination in Transition). Both were trained in high-level
workshops conducted by the CICAD/OAS in March in the province and in
July in Washington, DC.
On
Friday, October 18,
the official ceremony marking the opening will be attended by the
following authorities from the province of Salta, among others: Edward
Sylvester, Minister of Security; Nestor Enrique Heredia, Minister of
Health; Guillermo Alberto Posadas, Chair of the Supreme Court; Pablo
López Viñals, Attorney General; Luis Félix Costas, Defender General, and
Nestor Ruiz de los Llanos, Director of the Drug Enforcement
Administration of the Province. Also in attendance will be Antonio
Lomba, Acting Head of the Institution Building Section of CICAD/OAS and
the Drug Treatment Courts Program Manager.
The inauguration was held today to mark the first day of a
training workshop organized by the DTC Program for the Americas, which
is coordinated by CICAD. 120 professionals, including judges, defense
attorneys, treatment providers and prosecutors from the city of Salta
and the interior of the province are taking part in the workshop.
For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.
© Copyright 2013 by thebahamasweekly.com
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