STEPPING STONES

U.S. FEDERAL COURT HOLDS FORMER SALVADORAN CAPTAIN LIABLE FOR 1980 ASSASSINATION OF ARCHBISHOP OSCAR ROMERO

This report from Matt Eisenbrandt, Litigation Director at the Center for Justice & Accountability in San Francisco, presents World Federalists with an interesting precedent for us to consider. Even as the U.S. Administration vehemently denounces the very idea of the International Criminal Court, some of its own courts continue to reinterpret domestic laws in order to push forward in the spirit of individual accountability and universal jurisdiction. Judges and prosecutors worldwide, having been emboldened by what is now termed the “Pinochet principle,” are increasingly prone to act upon legal standards based less on national legislation and more on what are considered to be obvious, common, and purportedly indisputable social norms.While bringing about positive results, some may question the basic legitimacy of such “vigilante” justice. As people become more willing to contemplate the notions of rights and justice outside the traditional bounds of Westphalian sovereignty, we hope that they will also work to codify, legitimize, and enforce those sentiments through an institution of global government.--Eric R. Schultz

On September 3, 2004, Judge Oliver Wanger of the Eastern District of California in Fresno issued a historic decision holding Modesto, California resident Alvaro Saravia responsible for the assassination of revered Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador. In the case, Doe v. Saravia, Judge Wanger ordered Saravia to pay $10 million to the plaintiff, a relative of the Archbishop. In so doing, Judge Wanger stated that "the damages are of a magnitude that is hardly describable."

The judgment marks the first time that any individual has been held legally responsible for the assassination. Judge Wanger determined that the murder constitutes an extrajudicial killing under the Alien Tort Claims Act of 1789 and the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991. Significantly, the judge also held that the assassination was a crime against humanity because it was part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population.
The Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA) and its co-counsel, Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP, filed suit in September 2003 against Saravia for the key role he played in the assassination. Saravia was the right-hand man of reputed death squad leader Roberto D’Aubuisson, and several independent investigations had concluded that he had a primary role in organizing the assassination. Evidence produced at the four-day default hearing established that Saravia had obtained weapons, vehicles and other materials for the assassination, ordered his personal driver to transport the assassin to and from the chapel where Romero was shot, and paid the assassin after the assassination had been carried out. The U.N. Truth Commission and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights both concluded, after separate investigations, that Saravia was actively involved in planning and carrying out the assassination. Saravia has been in hiding for the past 18 months and did not appear at the hearing.

Saravia, a former Captain in the Salvadoran Air Force, left the military in 1979 to work closely with Roberto D’Aubuisson, who organized death squads composed of civilians and military figures. He also founded the far right political party Alianza Republicana Nacionalista ("ARENA"), which has been in power in El Salvador for most of the past 20 years.

Eleven witnesses testified at the hearing, including:

• Amado Antonio Garay, Saravia’s personal driver who, upon Saravia’s orders, drove the shooter to the church where the shooter killed Archbishop Romero;
  
• Judge Atilio Ramirez Amaya, the judge assigned to investigate the assassination in 1980, who described his investigation, the obstruction by the Salvadoran police, and the attempt on his life which caused him to flee the country; and
  
• Ambassador Robert White, the U.S. ambassador to El Salvador at the time of the assassination, who testified about his interactions with Archbishop Romero and the involvement of the Salvadoran military and D’Aubuisson in the assassination.
  

The case has already had a substantial impact in El Salvador. The Catholic Church has called for a re-opening of the investigation into the assassination and a lifting of the amnesty law. The Archbishop of El Salvador has said that the U.S. judge’s findings could help with the process of Romero’s beatification, because the trial uncovered new facts about who killed him and why.

For more information about the case, please visit CJA’s website: www.cja.org

PROPOSAL TO ENLARGE SECURITY COUNCIL TO 24

Ultimately in a well-governed world people of all beneficent beliefs would be represented. Currently there is much debate on how to make the U.N. Security Council more representative of the people of the Earth. Below, you will find two new ideas.--John O. Sutter

The United Nations Security Council should be increased to 24 from 15 member governments, with more regional balance, according to a panel named by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
The panel calls for the Security Council to be divided into four regional groups -- the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia -- with six members from each. There are differences on how to divide up the new seats. One proposal calls for no change in the 5 privileged powers with vetoes while allowing for eight of the 9 additional seats to be for 4-year terms and the ninth for a non-renewable two-year term, like the present 10 temporary members.

Another proposal would increase the number of permanent members by six without a veto, and add three seats for two-year terms. Reportedly Brazil, Germany, Japan, and India have in the past pressed hardest for the increase in permanent seats.

MODERATE DEMOCRATIC INDONESIA WANTS COUNCIL SEAT

On 20 October Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (S.B.Y.), who holds graduate degrees in management and agriculture, took office as President of the Republic of Indonesia, after the world's first free and fair direct election for chief of state of any major country, and where there were no questions about the legitimacy of the outcome. (This is quite an achievement in a country where two of S.B.Y.’s predecessors got themselves chosen as president for life.)

Not only is Indonesia the world's fourth most populous country, but it has a larger Muslim population than any other, and (unlike in many of the Arab countries) its Muslim citizens are overwhelmingly moderate and tolerant. (Within three years of its declaration of independence, it had women cabinet ministers; the U.S. got its first one 157 years after it declared independence.) There is also separation of clergy and government. Moreover, September saw the end of over four decades of having seats reserved for the military in Parliament and the People's Consultative Assembly (M.P.R.).

Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda told the U.N. General Assembly on 27 September that Indonesia's achievements in the area of international peace and its commitment to democratic values had set a good precedent not only for other Muslim nations, but also for Western countries. Moderate Islam must have a permanent seat on the Security Council.

Indonesia, a victim of three deadly terrorist attacks, was certain that the fight against terror could be won through a global coalition with open membership.

Finally, Hassan called on all nations to join hands in promoting democracy, noting "Democracy is never a miracle. Never a gift nor something imposed. It is always hard earned, often the fruit of many sacrifices. And its ultimate worth depends entirely upon us, the people -- whether we have the political maturity, the wisdom and the courage to make it work and make it endure."