AG/RES. 1473 (XXVII-O/97)
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE INTER-AMERICAN JURIDICAL COMMITTEE
(Resolution adopted at the seventh plenary session, held on June 5, 1997)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the observations and recommendations of the Permanent Council on the Annual
Report of the Inter-American Juridical Committee and the presentation by the Chair of the
Committee, Dr. Eduardo Vio Grossi; and
CONSIDERING:
That Article 53.f of the Charter of the Organization of American States includes among
the powers of the General Assembly that of considering the observations and
recommendations presented by the Permanent Council with regard to the reports of the
organs and entities of the Organization, in accordance with Article 90.f of the Charter;
That Article 52 of the Charter establishes the Inter-American Juridical Committee as
one of the organs of the Organization; and
That the Inter-American Juridical Committee presented its annual report to the
Permanent Council, which, in turn, has transmitted its observations and recommendations
thereon to the General Assembly,
RESOLVES:
- To receive and transmit to the Inter-American Juridical Committee the observations and
recommendations made by the Permanent Council on the Committee's annual report.
- To acknowledge the efforts made by the Inter-American Juridical Committee and,
especially, to thank it for the support it provides to the General Assembly and to the
Permanent Council and its Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs in the preparation
of draft conventions and other studies that are requested of it.
- To request the Inter-American Juridical Committee to continue studying the various
legal questions related to integration and, in this regard, to recognize the importance of
maintaining appropriate coordination between the Inter-American Juridical Committee, the
Permanent Council, the Special Committee on Trade, and the General Secretariat through the
Secretariat for Legal Affairs and the Trade Unit.
- To take note of resolution CJI/RES. II-14/96, which approves the unanimous opinion of
the Inter-American Juridical Committee given in fulfillment of resolution AG/RES. 1364
(XXVI- O/96), "Free Trade and Investment in the Hemisphere," and to acknowledge
the efforts of the Inter- American Juridical Committee in carrying out its work on a
timely basis.
- To request the Inter-American Juridical Committee to continue its study of various
matters relating to enhancement of the administration of justice in the Americas and to
cooperate as fully as possible with other bodies of the Organization that are doing work
in this area, particularly the Permanent Council's Working Group on Enhancement of the
Administration of Justice in the Americas.
- To urge the Inter-American Juridical Committee to continue its study of democracy in
the inter-American system in accordance with operative paragraph 1 of its resolution
CJI/RES. I-2/96.
- To note the holding of the Seminar on Democracy in the Inter-American System in
February 1997 in Washington, D.C., and to urge the Inter-American Juridical Committee to
encourage this type of activity and promote participation by various specialists who are
nationals of OAS member states.
- To recommend to the Inter-American Juridical Committee that it proceed with its studies
on inter-American cooperation against terrorism, taking into account the decisions reached
by the member states of the Organization at the Inter-American Specialized Conference on
Terrorism, held in Lima, Peru, in April 1996, and the results of the Meeting of Government
Experts on Cooperation to Prevent, Combat, and Eliminate Terrorism, held in May 1997 in
Washington, D.C.
- To note the importance of holding the February-March 1997 session of the Inter-
American Juridical Committee at the headquarters of the Organization and, in this
connection, to recommend that future sessions be held either at OAS headquarters or in
other member states, in keeping with Article 104 of the OAS Charter, in order to increase
awareness of the Committee's work. Any regular sessions that the Inter-American Juridical
Committee decides to hold away from its headquarters must be financed out of its regular
budget.
- To reiterate that it is necessary to intensify the relationship between the
Inter-American Juridical Committee and the political bodies of the Organization,
especially the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs of the Permanent Council.
- To note and recognize the validity of holding meetings of the Inter-American Juridical
Committee with legal consultants and advisers from the foreign ministries of the member
states and to support the Inter-American Juridical Committee in holding the third meeting
of this kind on August 7 and 8, 1997, in Rio de Janeiro, the purpose of which is to
further strengthen ties between the Committee and the legal consultants.
- To underscore the importance of holding the Course on International Law, which is
organized annually by the Inter-American Juridical Committee in cooperation with the
General Secretariat; to express its support for focusing the course program on a central
theme; to urge the General Secretariat to maintain equitable geographic participation
among fellows from the member states participating in the Course so as to ensure a balance
between the civil-law and common-law systems; and to request support from the member
states in increasing the number of fellows and in attracting more professors to the
Course.
- To encourage the Inter-American Juridical Committee to continue to cooperate with other
national and international governmental and nongovernmental organizations in order to
share information about legal development at the international level.
- To take note of the agenda adopted by the Inter-American Juridical Committee for its
next regular session.
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