La Justicia Vecinal de Pazfundamento de un nuevo Sistema de Justicia horizontal, democrático y participativo

Abstract

The author intends to summarize a work of three decades in the investigation of the Venezuelan Neighborhood Justice of Peace and the foundation of the Neighborhood Peace Courts carried out by the author applying the IAP (Participatory Action Research) technique, through which he has been discovering a Participant Observation, respectfully and non-interventionistic, the mechanisms used by the different communities to resolve in a conciliatorily manner, the injustices that they suffer, to systematize them and extract the fundamental principles and features that characterize these practices to, finally, postulate a methodology of action for the purpose to achieve neighborhood peace without the intervention of lawyers or ordinary courts. This is about creating the empirical basis for a real access to justice and a new episteme, differentiated from the traditional Justice of Peace and mediation, the constant in the Neighborhood Justice of Peace has been the community and democratic sense , the active participation of neighbors - with the right of opinion - in the whole process of obtaining justice with the advice of an Interdisciplinary Board (of professionals) and a Conciliation Board (of neighbors), appointed by the community, which acts as mediator in all the event called Neighborhood Peace Judgment, in which there are three Peace Judges (elected neighbors) who coordinate, moderate and create the strategy to accomplish in each case, since there is no rigid or formalistic procedure. Finally, a Monitoring Board, composed of neighbors, monitors compliance with the agreements obtained.