Course on Justicia Comunitaria y Deslinde Jurisdiccional

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Amigos, this has been a busy week with the world cup and all. Viva España!

This past Saturday morning, I attended an eight-hour special course on Justicia Comunitaria y Deslinde Jurisdiccional, led by Dr. Alfredo Mamani Argandoña in affiliation with the Gestion Publica & Empresarial Consulting Group. The course consisted of a complete lecture, continuous discussion and interactive activities regarding all things dealing with community justice. Dr. Mamani outlined the definition of community justice, how it is confused with lynching, its socio-political and historical context, and how it is positioned among the broader judicial system of Bolivia. He provided us example cases of how community justice is exercised, and presented the criteria for the practice to be considered community justice. These include three main elements: (1) That it align with the community’s norms and customs, (2) That there is a process exercised for conflict resolution, and (3) That it involve indigenous/original authorities and indigenous collective bodies. Dr. Mamani also provided us with all primary sources and legal documentation regarding community justice, such as “Ley N° 1110/2007 de las Naciones Unidas: Asamblea General”, “Ley N° 1257 (11 de Julio 1991) de Convenio 169 sobre Pueblos Indígenas y Tribales en países independiente: Organización Internacional del Trabajo, 1989”, “Sentencia Constitucional 0295/2003-R: Justicia Comunitaria”, and “Anteproyecto de Ley Deslinde Jurisdiccional”. This was extremely valuable information that will prove to be the most useful for my project. It saves me a lot of work because this course presented the material in a simplified and condensed manner. At the end of the course I swapped information with Dr. Mamani and he agreed to an interview in the near future. At this point in my project, all written materials and primary and secondary sources been sufficiently collected. Now I must conduct more interviews and try to find a way to witness an actual community justice hearing (which is not a simple feat due to the closed and untrusting nature of these communities). Nonetheless, it is clear that the more people I network with, the more opportunities will arise for the anthropological side of my investigation.

Wish me luck!

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Comments

[Alfredo Mamani Argandoña]

indigenous justice
i am going to write in 3 languages: SPANISH: MUCHAS GRACIAS POR EL COMENTARIO, Y ES NECESARIO HACER ESTUDIO MAS PROFUNDOS AL RESPECTO, TODA VES QUE EN UNA COMUNIDAD COMO ES EL BOLIVIA SE PUEDE APRENDER MUCHO. INCLUSO SIN EXAJERAR PUEDE SER EN UN FUTURO UNA ALTERNATIVA DE UN NUEVO MODELO DE ESTADO QUE SOLUCIONE LOS PROBLEMAS EN EL PLANETA. AYMARA (NATIVE LANGUAGE IN BOLIVIA); AKA LUP'IWIMP JIWISAÑAK SUMPACHA UTACHAÑANI AKA SUMA QAMAÑ THAKITAKI. MA PIT ARUSKIPTASIPXAÑANAKASAKIPUNIRAKISPAWA. ENGLISH: IT IS VERY INTERESTING TO ANALYSE INDIGENOUS JUSTICE IN BOLIVIA, DUE TO THE STRUGGLE AMONG DIFFERENT KIND TO SISTEMS. WE HAVE TO REMEBER THAT ANCIENT PEOPLE FROM HERE (BOLIVIA) THOUGHT THAT MAIN PURPOSE IS TO FIND HARMONY AND PEACE. AND IT IS POSIBLE, NOT IMPOSIBLE. THANKS NEJLA CALVO. I HOPE I AM GOING TO SEE AGAIN AT THE FUTURE.