Haiti - Justice : New Court of Peace in Grande Rivière du Nord
Grande Rivière du Nord now has a new Court of Peace. The construction was financed by the Minustah as part of its Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) to the tune of 96.000 U.S. dollars and include: a large hearing room, three offices and three waiting rooms for the three judges, two offices for clerks and one office for the the civil registrar of the municipality, all air conditioned and equipped with office equipment. To facilitate the operation of this court, the Minustah has also made available a generator with a capacity of 20 KVA and is committed to provide 1,342 liters of fuel per month, over a period of one year.
For Me Lionel Desravines, the government commissioner of the jurisdiction of Grande Rivière du Nord, the old building was a danger for its staff "here we are now in a more comfortable space to do justice in decent conditions." A vision shared by Judge Jean Joseph, holder of the Tribunal, which took the opportunity to invite community members to facilitate the work of justice and to encourage litigants dissatisfied with decisions made by the Tribunal, to take the actions provided by law, instead of doing justice themselves or destroy buildings and other public property.
For his part, Emilio Castaneda Head of Regional Bureau North of the Minustah, reported that this initiative was part of the mandate of the UN Mission which aims to support Haiti's institutions and contribute to strengthening the rule of law in Haiti. The Regional Bureau North has already built several courts in both jurisdictions of the Department, including those of Saint-Raphaël, Ranquite, L’Acul du Nord, Cap-Haitien and Grande Rivière du Nord.
