Peru Courts

When Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Judith C. Chirlin travels to Peru next month as part of a court restructuring project there, she will carry a longstanding belief that courts must adapt to changing social needs. Working on court reform has been her goal since law school. "I got a job as a lawyer because if you look in the classifieds you don't see many listings for court reformers," Chirlin said.

In a bid to calm the political maelstrom that has bedeviled him for almost a year, President Alberto Fujimori has turned over a high-profile human rights case to a military court. And despite cries of outrage and a worsening of already-strained relations with the United States, the move may smooth the way for his reelection in 1995.

In a bid to calm the political maelstrom that has bedeviled him for almost a year, President Alberto Fujimori has turned over a high-profile human rights case to a military court. And despite cries of outrage and a worsening of already-strained relations with the United States, the move may smooth the way for his reelection in 1995.

When Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Judith C. Chirlin travels to Peru next month as part of a court restructuring project there, she will carry a longstanding belief that courts must adapt to changing social needs. Working on court reform has been her goal since law school. "I got a job as a lawyer because if you look in the classifieds you don't see many listings for court reformers," Chirlin said.

It seemed a sweet deal: A free vacation to South America. All expenses paid, and a hefty cash bonus. Just bring a parcel back home to Europe. "I thought I had no worries," said Vera Scheerstra, recalling when her boyfriend in the Netherlands suggested the trip. "I was stupid -- and in love, I guess." For the Dutchwoman, it has turned into a life-transforming experience -- but not in any constructive sense.

The Peruvian Congress charged ex-President Alberto Fujimori on Friday with dereliction of duty and disqualified him from public office for 10 years, opening the way for a criminal trial, lawmakers said. "Of course this paves the way to a criminal trial," said Daniel Estrada, who headed a congressional commission pressing for constitutional charges against Fujimori. Congress voted 37 to 24, with four abstentions, to charge Fujimori with abandoning office and dereliction of duty.

Peru's captured former spy chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, who could be jailed for life on charges ranging from embezzlement to murder, is itching to talk, a senior judge who has questioned him said Wednesday. Peruvians braced for more explosive revelations from the man at the center of the massive corruption scandal that brought down President Alberto Fujimori after Montesinos revealed Tuesday that he had an additional 30,000 secret videos up his sleeve.

While fair elections, a free press and open markets have taken root throughout Latin America during the last two decades, one crucial branch of democracy has long withered: an equitable justice system. In the last six months, however, a burst of legal actions against once untouchable Latin American despots has provided the first, tentative signs of growth of a politically independent judiciary. From Mexico to Chile, no fewer than seven countries have begun trials against former strongmen.