Development: On 18 August President Ollanta Humala outlined the focal point for judicial reform: attacking corruption in the judiciary. Significance: “A corrupt judge is more dangerous than a criminal”, President Humala said on 18 August. Corruption has long undermined the public standing of judges and the sentences they hand down; the judiciary has been often described as an institution where money buys results, and allegedly, the more money one pays the more ‘justice’ one gets. Efficiency – the more technical, but less visible twin problem facing the judiciary – will nevertheless be an important component, if not the core focus.…

Development: On 18 August Colombia’s former president Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010) spent five hours in testimony before a congressional investigative committee, which is looking allegations that when in office he ordered an illegal intelligence gathering operation by the intelligence service (DAS), commonly known as the ‘Chuzadas’. Significance: During his ‘free version’ of events, Uribe denied having ordered the ‘Chuzadas’ and said he would immediately apologise to the country if any member of his government were found guilty of wrongdoing. Uribe defended former directors of the DAS, some of whom have already been criminally indicted for the operation. However, Uribe did admit…