Re-inventing the rule of law: Human rights in El Salvador

• Published in: Democratization Vol. 4; no. 4; pp. 110 - 134
• Main Authors: Dodson, J. Michael, Jackson, Donald W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 01.12.1997
• Subjects: Authoritarianism; Democratization; El Salvador; Human rights; Legal reform; Liberal democracy; Regime transition; Rule of law
• ISSN: 1351-0347; 1743-890X
• DOI: 10.1080/13510349708403538

Recent transitions from authoritarianism to democracy have been front-page news. Often attention to such transitions has focused on efforts to create and sustain democratic elections and to guarantee open political competition between parties that are committed to majority rule. However, equally important in such transitions is the implementation of the rule of law. This article examines the efforts of one country, El Salvador, to re-establish the rule of law as part of its passage to liberal democracy. The efforts to implement the Salvadoran peace accords that were signed in January 1992 provide the focus. The United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL) was created to monitor compliance. One important consequence of the accords was the effort to achieve broad reform of the justice system. Salvador's progress here is evaluated both in respect of the degree of compliance with the accords, and, more importantly, in establishing an independent judiciary that will be capable of protecting human rights. Salvador's reforms are compared with other efforts to re-establish the rule of law in some formerly authoritarian regimes.