World Factbook Of Criminal Justice Systems - Cuba

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WORLDFACTBOOKof C R I M I N A LJUSTICESYSTEMScubabyRay M i c h a l o w s k iNorthern ArizonaUniversityThis c o u n t r y report is one of m a n y p r e p a r e d forthe W o r l d F a c t b o o k of Criminal J u s t i c e Systemsunder Bureau of Justice S t a t i s t i c s grant no. 90B J - C X - 0 0 0 2 to the State U n i v e r s i t y of N e w Y o r k atAlbany.The p r o j e c t d i r e c t o r was G r a e m e R.Newman, but r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for the a c c u r a c y of thei n f o r m a t i o n c o n t a i n e d in each report is that ofthe i n d i v i d u a l author.The contents of thesereports do not n e c e s s a r i l y reflect the views orpolicies of the Bureau of Justice S t a t i s t i c s orthe U.S. D e p a r t m e n t of Justice.GENERALOVERVIEWi. Political System.Cuba is a d e m o c r a t i c - c e n t r a l i s tstateo r g a n i z e d a c c o r d i n g to a M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t model.The C o m m u n i s t Party of Cuba is the only o f f i c i a lp o l i t i c a l party. The n a t i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t isd i v i d e d into executive, l e g i s l a t i v e and j u d i c i a lbranches. The e x e c u t i v e b r a n c h consists of aCouncil of State and a Council of M i n i s t e r s . Thep r e s i d e n t of the Council of State serves as thePresident of Cuba. The n a t i o n a l l e g i s l a t i v e b r a n c hconsists of an elected, u n i c a m e r a l b o d y known asthe National A s s e m b l y of Peoples Power. TheSupreme Court of Cuba serves as the n a t i o n ' shighest judicial b r a n c h of government. It is alsothe court of last resort for all appeals fromc o n v i c t i o n s in p r o v i n c i a l courts.Below the n a t i o n a l level, Cuba is d i v i d e dinto 14 provinces, and numerous m u n i c i p a l i t i e s .Each p r o v i n c e and m u n i c i p a l i t y has both an e l e c t e dA s s e m b l y of Peoples Power, and a s y s t e m of courts.Provincial courts h a n d l e f e l o n y - e q u i v a l e n t crimes,many forms of civil c o n f l i c t m a t t e r s such asdivorce, and appeals from m u n i c i p a l courts.M u n i c i p a l courts, in turn, are courts of firsti n s t a n c e for lesser crimes and m i n o r civilmatters. In a d d i t i o n to these formal components,Cuba's p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m i n c o r p o r a t e s a n u m b e r of"mass o r g a n i z a t i o n s " into its processes, such asthe C o m m u n i s t Party, the Young C o m m u n i s t League,the Cuban F e d e r a t i o n of Women, the A s s o c i a t i o n ofCuban Workers, and the N a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n ofSmall Farmers.2. LegalSystem.

The Cuban legal s y s t e m is a c o m p o s i t e of thethree m a j o r stages of Cuban history. R e f l e c t i n gits past as a Spanish colony, Cuba is a civil lawstate that e m p h a s i z e s w r i t t e n codes rather thanp r e c e d e n t as the source of law, and theu t i l i z a t i o n of an i n q u i s i t o r i a l s y s t e m of criminalp r o c e d u r e similar to that of Spain and France.I n t e r m i n g l e d with this are elements ofA n g l o - A m e r i c a n law such as habeas corpus, and agreater s e p a r a t i o n of courts and p r o s e c u t o r s thanis n o r m a l l y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s tstates.Finally, thirty years of d e v e l o p m e n t g u i d e dby M a r x i s t legal theory, and s h a p e d by close tiesto the former Soviet Union have added a c l e a r l ysocialist c h a r a c t e r to the Cuban legal system.Key elements of Cuba's "socialist l e g a l i t y " are:(i) an e m p h a s i s on s u b s t a n t i v e rather thanjuridical m e a s u r e s of justice, (2) the use of lawas a p r o - a c t i v e tool for s o c i a l i s t development,(3) l i m i t e d use of formal legal m e c h a n i s m s for theresolution of p r i v a t e disputes, (4) the use ofinformal "social courts" to resolve c o n f l i c t s suchas housing and labor disputes, (5) direct c i t i z e ni n v o l v e m e n t in the judicial and crime controlprocedures, and (6) a s y s t e m of s t a t e - o r g a n i z e dlaw c o l l e c t i v e s to p r o v i d e l o w - c o s t legal servicesnationwide.3. H i s t o r y of the Criminal Justice System.The m o d e r n h i s t o r y of Cuba b e g a n whenC h r i s t o p h e r C o l u m b u s c l a i m e d the i s l a n d for theKing of Spain in 1492. For the next 400 yearsCuba r e m a i n e d a Spanish colony. In the m i d - 1 9 t hcentury, Cuban n a t i o n a l i s t s began a series ofarmed struggles for Cuban independence, w h i c he v e n t u a l l y led to the defeat of the S p a n i a r d s in1899. The U n i t e d States became i n v o l v e d in theCuban war of i n d e p e n d e n c e during its last days.Consequently, through the s e t t l e m e n t of theS p a n i s h - A m e r i c a n war, the U n i t e d States o b t a i n e d apeace t r e a t y that e f f e c t i v e l y t r a n s f e r r e ds o v e r e i g n t y over Cuba from Spain to the U n i t e dStates.For the next 60 years U.S. b u s i n e s s andfinancial i n t e r e s t s d o m i n a t e d the Cuban economy.Several U.S. m i l i t a r y incursions in the e a r l y partof the 20th c e n t u r y insured g o v e r n m e n t s h o s p i t a b l eto these interests, as well as U.S. s e c u r i t yinterests. On J a n u a r y i, 1959, a r e v o l u t i o n a r ym o v e m e n t led by Fidel Castro toppled the formerU . S . - s u p p o r t e d g o v e r n m e n t of F u l e n g c i o Batista,b e g i n n i n g a p r o c e s s that led to the t r a n s f o r m a t i o nof Cuba into a socialist, p l a n n e d - e c o n o m y state.The post r e v o l u t i o n a r y era in Cuba can be d i v i d e dinto four periods. The first period,e x t e n d i n g from 1959 to the early 1970s, was

c h a r a c t e r i z e d by r e v o l u t i o n a r y e x p e r i m e n t a t i o nin all areas of social organization, i n c l u d i n gg o v e r n m e n t m a n a g e m e n t and control of p r o d u c t i o nand d i s t r i b u t i o n . The most n o t a b l e e x p e r i m e n twithin the justice s y s t e m d u r i n g this time was thec r e a t i o n of Peoples' Courts (tribunales de base).These courts e m p h a s i z e d informal procedures, andu t i l i z e d o r d i n a r y citizens as lay prosecutors, layadvocates, and lay judges rather than fillingthese p o s i t i o n s with f o r m a l l y t r a i n e d jurists.The second major p e r i o d of the r e v o l u t i o nbegan in the early 1970s, and was c h a r a c t e r i z e dby i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n of the new e c o n o m i c andp o l i t i c a l order. This i n c l u d e d the p a s s a g e of anew Cuban constitution, r e o r g a n i z a t i o n of mosta d m i n i s t r a t i v e structures, and r e p l a c i n g thep r e - r e v o l u t i o n a r y legal s y s t e m with one m o r esuited to the i d e o l o g y and p r a c t i c e of a s o c i a l i s tp o l i t i c a l economy.In 1973, the Cuban g o v e r n m e n t p r o m u l g a t e d anew Law of Judicial O r g a n i z a t i o n . This lawe s t a b l i s h e d a h i e r a r c h i c a l and more formal courtsystem, r e p l a c e d the p r i v a t e p r a c t i c e of law withlaw c o l l e c t i v e s known as bufetes colectivos, ands t r e n g t h e n e d the emphasis on "socialist l e g a l i t y . "This p e r i o d was also m a r k e d by i n c r e a s i n g l y closerelations with the Soviet Union, and i n c r e a s e de c o n o m i c d e p e n d e n c e on C O M E C O N - the t r a d i n g blocof s o c i a l i s t nations.The m i d - 1 9 8 0 s i n i t i a t e d a p e r i o d focused on" r e c t i f i c a t i o n " of earlier errors. One c o m p o n e n tof this era was p a s s a g e of a new penal code thatd e c r i m i n a l i z e d a number of p o l i t i c a l offenses,reduced p e n a l t i e s for crimes overall, andi n s t i t u t e d a broader range of a l t e r n a t i v e s toincarceration. In the early 1990s Cuba'ss o c i a l i s t trading partners d i s a p p e a r e d with thecollapse of the Soviet bloc, u s h e r i n g in an era ofe c o n o m i c c o n t r a c t i o n termed the "special p e r i o d "by the n a t i o n ' s leaders. In an effort to finda l t e r n a t i v e routes to c o n t i n u e d s o c i a l i s tdevelopment, the Cuban g o v e r n m e n t l e g a l i z e d theuse of foreign c u r r e n c y by citizens andl i b e r a l i z e d laws g o v e r n i n g foreign investment.CRIMEi. C l a s s i f i c a t i o nof Crime.* Legal classification. Under Cuban law, an actis a crime only if it is p r o h i b i t e d by the law andis s o c i a l l y d a n g e r o u s or harmful (socialimentepeligrosa). V i o l a t i o n s of law that do not rise tothe n e c e s s a r y level of social h a r m are c o n s i d e r e dto be i n f r a c t i o n s (contravenciones), that is, an o n c r i m i n a l citation offense.Crimes in Cuba are d i v i d e d into felony and

m i s d e m e a n o r offenses. Felony crimes are thosewith a p o t e n t i a l sentence e x c e e d i n g one yeari m p r i s o n m e n t or a fine of more than 300 cuotas.(Cuotas are units of a fine that have v a r i a b l evalue.Thus, one p e r s o n may be s u b j e c t to a fineof 100 cuotas at one peso each w h i l e a n o t h e r m a ybe subject to the same fine but at a rate of twopesos per cuota.)O f f e n s e s that m e e t thiss t a n d a r d are p r o s e c u t e d in p r o v i n c i a l courts.Less serious m i s d e m e a n o r offenses are a d j u d i c a t e din m u n i c i p a l courts and carry m a x i m u m p e n a l t i e sb e l o w the o n e - y e a r / 3 0 0 - c u o t a level.F e l o n y - e q u i v a l e n t crimes in Cuba e n c o m p a s s as t a n d a r d array of offenses against p e r s o n s orp r o p e r t y i n c l u d i n g murder, rape, assault, d e a t h orinjury by vehicle, robbery, burglary, larceny,vehicle theft, arson, and drug trafficking.Except for murder, rape, and robbery, each ofthese o f f e n s e s also has a less serious,m i s d e m e a n o r equivalent.In a d d i t i o n to s t a n d a r d crimes a g a i n s tpersons, p r o p e r t y and social order, the Cubanpenal code e n u m e r a t e s various o f f e n s e s againsts o c i a l i s t organization. Central among these aremisuse of e m p l o y m e n t in a state e n t e r p r i s e forillegal personal gain (malversacion), o b t a i n i n gmoney or p r o p e r t y i l l e g a l l y c h a n n e l e d from somestate e c o n o m i c venture (receptacion), trading inforeign c u r r e n c y (trafico de divisas), s l a u g h t e rand d i s t r i b u t i o n of l i v e s t o c k o u t s i d e thes o c i a l i s t d i s t r i b u t i o n s y s t e m (sacrificio ilegal),and a t t e m p t i n g to leave the c o u n t r y w i t h o u tc o m p l y i n g with formal e m i g r a t i o n r e q u i r e m e n t s(salida ilegal). Rather than being o c c a s i o n a lcrimes, these offenses c o n s t i t u t e a regular partof the criminal case load in Cuba.* Age of criminal responsibility. The age ofcriminal r e s p o n s i b i l i t y in both m u n i c i p a l andp r o v i n c i a l courts is 16, which c o r r e s p o n d s tothe Cuban voting age.* Drug offenses. Cuba's drug p r o h i b i t i o n is b r o a dand nonspecific. Under Cuban law it is a felonyto produce, sell, or possess with intent to sellany "toxic drug, or hallucinogenic, hypnotic, orn a r c o t i c substance, or any other s u b s t a n c e w i t h asimilar effect." The p e n a l t y for this o f f e n s e is3 to 8 years of imprisonment. Simplep o s s e s s i o n of illegal drugs is p u n i s h a b l e by 6months to 2 years imprisonment.2. Crime S t a t i s t i c sThe number and rate for serious crimes arereported by p o l i c e i n v e s t i g a t o r s to the O f f i c e ofthe A t t o r n e y General in Cuba for 1988. A t t e m p t sare i n c l u d e d only where they are crimes in

t h e m s e l v e s such as a t t e m p t e d sexual assault. Therates are b a s e d on p o p u l a t i o n p r o j e c t i o n s from theA t t o r n e y General of Cuba, M a y 1989.* Murder.* .* Theft. In 1988, there were 6,531 cases of theftr e c o r d e d by p o l i c e i n v e s t i g a t o r s for a rate of 62per i00,000 population.* Seriousobtained.drugoffense.Information* Crime regions. Crime rates in Cubas u b s t a n t i a l l y higher in the island'scities, Havana and S a n t i a g o de Cuba,elsewhere.notaretwo m a i nthanVICTIMSi. Groups Most V i c t i m i z e d by Crime.There is little s u r v e y data a v a i l a b l e onv i c t i m i z a t i o n in Cuba. E t h n o g r a p h i c and a n e c d o t a levidence, however, suggest that there are no clearp a t t e r n s of v i c t i m i z a t i o n by racial or e t h n i cbackground. Over 500 years of i n t e r r a c i a l c o n t a c tb e t w e e n the d e s c e n d a n t s of S p a n i s h c o l o n i s t s andA f r i c a n slaves have p r o d u c e d a r e l a t i v e l yh o m o g e n e o u s A f r o - C a r i b b e a n s o c i e t y in w h i c h sociald i f f e r e n t i a t i o n s t r e t c h e s along a c o n t i n u u m ratherthan being c o n s t i t u t e d by sharp lines d e m a r c a t i n graces or cultures.D e s p i t e this h o m o g e n i z a t i o n ,there is someo v e r - r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of d a r k e r - s k i n n e d Cubans inthe l o w e r - i n c o m e sectors of the society, and somei n d i c a t i o n that these Cubans may suffer s l i g h t l yhigher v i c t i m i z a t i o n rates for i n t e r p e r s o n a lv i o l e n c e and m i n o r theft. W o m e n in Cuba, as inmany areas a r o u n d the world, are victims of b o t hrape and d o m e s t i c violence. The r e c o r d e df r e q u e n c y of such offenses in Cuba, however,appears to be lower than for both the U n i t e dStates and Latin America.2. Victims' A s s i s t a n c e Agencies.The p r i m a r y i n s t i t u t i o n s for a s s i s t i n gvictims of crimes are the C o m m i t t e e s for theDefense of the R e v o l u t i o n (CDRs). The CDRs areb l o c k - l e v e l n e i g h b o r h o o d a s s o c i a t i o n s thatoffer various forms of social support ton e i g h b o r h o o d residents, in a d d i t i o n to e n g a g i n g incrime p r e v e n t i o n and p o l i t i c a l vigilance. V i c t i m sof crime can o b t a i n m e d i c a l care, social w e l f a r eassistance, a n d / o r c o u n s e l i n g services from one ofCuba's n a t i o n w i d e s y s t e m of n e i g h b o r h o o d

"polyclinics."3. Role of V i c t i m in Prosecution and Sentencing.There are no special roles for victimsduring p r o s e c u t i o n or sentencing, other thanproviding evidence and testimony duringadjudication.4. Victims' Rights Legislation.There is no specific victims'legislation in Cuba.rightsPOLICEi. A d m i n i s t r a t i o n .Policing in Cuba is organized under theauspices of the M i n i s t r y of the Interior (MINIT),which is d i r e c t l y responsible to the Council ofState. The MINIT is divided into threedirectorates: Security, Technical Operations, andInternal Order and Crime Prevention. The InternalOrder and Crime Prevention Section is s u b d i v i d e dinto s u b d i r e c t o r a t e s for corrections, fireprotection, and policing.The s u b d i r e c t o r a t e for policing isresponsible for the National R e v o l u t i o n a r y Police(PNR). The PNR encompasses u n i f o r m policing,criminal investigation, crime prevention, juveniledelinquency, and traffic control. The PNR isdivided into municipal divisions, each with itsown police chief. These local police agencies areresponsible to the national d i r e c t o r a t e of thePNR, through a h i e r a r c h i c a l structure thatincorporates p r o v i n c i a l levels of oversight.The Security division of MINIT is r e s p o n s i b l efor p o l i c i n g crimes such as espionage, sabotageand other offenses against the state security.The M i n i s t r y of the Interior and the NationalR e v o l u t i o n a r y Police have been closely i n t e g r a t e dwith the R e v o l u t i o n a r y Armed Forces (FAR) sincethe r e v o l u t i o n a r y victory of 1959.In addition to formal policing by the PNR,the Cuban system of control utilizes theCommittees for the Defense of the R e v o l u t i o n (CDR)as a u x i l i a r y eyes and ears of the police.The CDR m a i n t a i n s nightly n e i g h b o r h o o d watchesknown as la guardia to prevent crime. They dealwith juvenile deviance and assist crime victims.The CDR is also responsible for p r o m o t i n gcompliance with a variety of n o n - c r i m i n a lrequirements such as water and e l e c t r i c i t yconservation, pet inoculation, and public healthrequirements. A c t i v e CDR members (cederistas) mayalso provide the police or MINIT with i n f o r m a t i o nabout activities they consider suspicious ordeviant.

2.Resources.* Expenditures.* NumberInformationof police.notInformationobtained.notobtained.3. T e c h n o l o g y .* A v a i l a b i l i t y of p o l i c e automobiles. Police inm a j o r cities patrol both in cars and on foot. Inlarger cities such as Havana there is a f a i r l yhigh p r e v a l e n c e of p o l i c e cars.* E l e c t r o n i c equipment. Cuban p o l i c e u t i l i z e radioc o m m u n i c a t i o n s for dispatch, but c o m p u t e r i z e dd i s p a t c h i n g and c o m p u t e r i z e d record k e e p i n g arestill in the d e v e l o p m e n t stages.* Weapons. Cuban p o l i c ea s e m i - a u t o m a t i c pistolw e a p o n s such as a s s a u l tanti-personnel ordnance4. T r a i n i n gobtained.are t y p i c a l l y a r m e d w i t hand a baton. O t h e rrifles, shotguns and o t h e rare not available.and Q u a l i f i c a t i o n s .Informationnot5. Discretion.* Use of force. Police may use n e c e s s a r y force toa p p r e h e n d suspects and to d e f e n d their p e r s o n orthat of any other citizen.* S t o p / a p p r e h e n d a suspect. Cuban law places fewformal limits on p o l i c e d i s c r e t i o n to stop ori n t e r r o g a t e citizens. This reflects Cuba'sc h a r a c t e r as a civil law state with ani n q u i s i t o r i a l judicial system. A centraljuridical a s s u m p t i o n of this s y s t e m is that nocriminal case exists until an initialinvestigation(fase p r e p a r a t o r i a ) has d e m o n s t r a t e dthat a crime has been committed, and that ap a r t i c u l a r person is the p r o b a b l e offender.Consequently, b e c a u s e there is no formal criminalcase, the a r g u m e n t claims that citizens havelittle need for p r o c e d u r a l p r o t e c t i o n at thisstage of the i n v e s t i g a t i v e process.A p l a n n e d revision of the Cuban law of penalp r o c e d u r e will p e r m i t a t t o r n e y s to enter cases assoon as an i n d i v i d u a l has been a r r e s t e d or isthe target of an investigation. This change willc o n s t i t u t e a s i g n i f i c a n t m o v e away from a purei n q u i s i t o r i a l criminal process.* D e c i s i o n to arrest. Because arrests are u s u a l l ypart of the pre-case, i n v e s t i g a t i v e stage, thew a r r a n t p r o c e d u r e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of A g l o - A m e r i c a nlegal systems is not part of the Cuban penal

process.* Search and seizure. The Cuban c o n s t i t u t i o nrequires that w a r r a n t s be o b t a i n e d from a court inorder to conduct a home search. W a r r a n t s m u s ts p e c i f y the p l a c e to be s e a r c h e d and the n a t u r e ofthe m a t e r i a l b e i n g sought.A w a r r a n t is not necessary, however, if ad o m i c i l e is also the scene of the crime. In thiscase, p r o c e d u r a l law permits i n v e s t i g a t o r s tosearch the p r e m i s e s and to remove any items d e e m e das evidence.* C o n f e s s i o n s . Cuban p r o c e d u r a l law p r o h i b i t sv i o l e n c e or force in o b t a i n i n g a confession, ands p e c i f i e s that no one is r e q u i r e d to t e s t i f ya g a i n s t h i m or herself. Suspects can m a k e w h a t e v e rformal s t a t e m e n t s they wish r e g a r d i n g the chargesagainst them, i n c l u d i n g c o n f e s s i o n s of guilt.These s t a t e m e n t s are made orally, and thenp r e s e n t e d in w r i t i n g to the s u s p e c t for signature.Minors under the age of 16 can only make theses t a t e m e n t s in the p r e s e n c e of p a r e n t s or otherlegal guardians.W h i l e c r i m i n a l suspects can confess guilt,they cannot be c o n v i c t e d s o l e l y on the basis of aconfession. Rather, Cuban law requires that allcriminal cases be p r o v e n at trial u t i l i z i n ge v i d e n c e b e y o n d the suspect's s t a t e m e n t of guilt.6. A c c o u n t a b i l i t y .T h e r e are no formal "watchdog" orc i t i z e n - r e v i e w bodies d e v o t e d s p e c i f i c a l l yo v e r s e e i n g p o l i c e in Cuba.PROSECUTORIALI. RightsANDJUDICIALtoPROCESSof the Accused.* A c c u s e d p e r s o n s have the right to a trial by ajudicial panel. For f e l o n y - e q u i v a l e n t cases h e a r din p r o v i n c i a l courts, these panels c o n s i s t of fivejudges, three of w h o m are t r a i n e d jurists with lawdegrees, and two of w h o m are citizens chosen toserve as lay judges. Less serious c r i m i n a loffenses are a d j u d i c a t e d by m u n i c i p a l court panelsc o n s i s t i n g of one jurist and two lay judges.* A s s i s t a n c e to the accused. Cuban d e f e n d a n t shave the right to a d e f e n s e counsel. A n a t i o n w i d es y s t e m of law c o l l e c t i v e s(bufetes colectivos) ared e s i g n e d to p r o v i d e p u b l i c access to legal counselat s t a t e - s e t fees.2.Procedures.* Preparatoryproceduresfor b r i n g i n ga suspectto

trial. During the fase p r e p a r a t o r i a , p o l i c ei n v e s t i g a t o r s and/or p r o s e c u t o r s a s s e m b l e a b o d yof e v i d e n c e and witnesses. If this e v i d e n c e isd e e m e d sufficient, the p r o s e c u t o r issues thee q u i v a l e n t of a bill of i n d i c t m e n t (conclusionesp r o v i s i o n a l e s ) . This d o c u m e n t is sent to thecourt of first instance and to the a c c u s e d ' sd e f e n s e attorney, if one has been i d e n t i f i e d atthat time.* O f f i c i a l who conducts p r o s e c u t i o n . If a case isa felony e q u i v a l e n t the p r o s e c u t i o n n o r m a l l y willbe r e p r e s e n t e d by a p r o s e c u t o r (fiscal) from thep r o v i n c i a l office of the a t t o r n e y - g e n e r a l d u r i n gtrial. If it is a m i s d e m e a n o r - e q u i v a l e n t offense,p r o s e c u t i o n is most often r e p r e s e n t e d by a p o l i c einvestigator.* A l t e r n a t i v e s to trial. At this time there areno alternatives, such as plea bargaining, to ther e q u i r e m e n t that all crimes be a d j u d i c a t e d attrial.* P r o p o r t i o n of p r o s e c u t e d cases going to trial.All crimes must be a d j u d i c a t e d at trial.* Pre-trial i n c a r c e r a t i o n conditions.Cubanp r o c e d u r a l law specifies that p o l i c e cannot d e t a i na suspect longer than 24 hours w i t h o u t s u b m i t t i n gthe case to an investigator. The i n v e s t i g a t o r inturn must submit the case to the s c r u t i n y of ap r o s e c u t o r within 3 w o r k i n g days. Thep r o s e c u t o r ' s office then has a m a x i m u m of 3w o r k i n g days w i t h i n which to either releasethe suspect or submit to judicial review the planto keep the suspect in c u s t o d y until trial. Thisreview must be made by the court that willa d j u d i c a t e the case.The court is r e q u i r e d toeither approve d e t e n t i o n or order release w i t h i n3 days, and its d e c i s i o n is final.A c c o r d i n g to law, in felony cases, p r e - t r i a li n c a r c e r a t i o n (prision provisional) is s u p p o s e d tobe l i m i t e d to those who have c o m m i t t e d crimes thatcaused p u b l i c fear (murder, rape, robbery), whoare s u s p e c t e d of m u l t i p l e offenses, or who m a yflee p r o s e c u t i o n . Pretrial i n c a r c e r a t i o n isd e e m e d i n a p p r o p r i a t e in all m i s d e m e a n o r casesunless the p e r s o n has p r o d u c e d falsei d e n t i f i c a t i o n or given i n d i c a t i o n s of i m m i n e n tflight from prosecution.* Bail Procedure. Defendants may be r e l e a s e don bail p e n d i n g trial to the o v e r s i g h t of a workplace, a union, or other r e c o g n i z e d socialorganization, or on their own recognizance.* Proportionof p r e - t r i a loffendersincarcerated.

A 1988 study of 982 d e f e n d a n t s s e r v e d by a lawc o l l e c t i v e in Havana r e v e a l e d that 35% w e r ei n c a r c e r a t e d at the time of indictment.(Crimes p e c i f i c rates of d e t e n t i o n ranged from 61% forfelony p r o p e r t y crimes to 33% for felony o f f e n s e sagainst state s e c u r i t y and 19% for t r a f f i co f f e n s e s leading to death or injury.Felonycrimes a g a i n s t the e c o n o m y had a p r e - t r i a ld e t e n t i o n rate of 40%.)JUDICIALSYSTEMi. A d m i n i s t r a t i o n .The Cuban court s y s t e m consists of a S u p r e m eCourt, P r o v i n c i a l Courts, M u n i c i p a l Courts, andM i l i t a r y Courts. The S u p r e m e Court is s u b d i v i d e dinto areas of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y(salas) for penal,civil and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e ,labor, state security,and m i l i t a r y cases. P r o v i n c i a l courts ares i m i l a r l y divided, with the e x c l u s i o n of am i l i t a r y sala. There is no formal d i v i s i o n ofM u n i c i p a l Courts into j u r i s d i c t i o n a l areas,a l t h o u g h larger m u n i c i p a l courts m a y s u b d i v i d einto s e c t i o n s with s p e c i f i c r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s .2.Special Courts.T h e r e are no special courts other than thed i v i s i o n s d e s c r i b e d above. All family m a t t e r ssuch as divorce, custody, and child support areh a n d l e d in the general civil sala of p r o v i n c i a lcourts. J u v e n i l e p r o b l e m s that are not crimes areh a n d l e d o u t s i d e the formal court structure.3. Judges.* Numberof judges.Information* Appointmentobtained.and q u a l i f i c a t i o n s .PENALTIESSENTENCINGANDI. S e n t e n c i n gnot obtained.InformationnotProcess.* Who d e t e r m i n e s the s e n t e n c e ?d e t e r m i n e d by the same judicialt e s t i m o n y and d e t e r m i n e d guilt.S e n t e n c e s arepanel that h e a r d* Is there a special s e n t e n c i n g h e a r i n g ?Inm u n i c i p a l courts, s e n t e n c e s are almost alwaysd i c t a t e d at the time of trial. S e n t e n c e s forfelony o f f e n s e s a d j u d i c a t e d in p r o v i n c i a l courtsm a y be d i c t a t e d at the time of the trial, but aremore often issued several weeks after the trial.C u b a n law requires that all criminal casesbe c o m p l e t e d w i t h i n 6 months after the initiali n d i c t m e n t is issued.One study found that

a l t h o u g h about 20% of cases e x c e e d this limitto some degree, over 90% of all cases werec o m p l e t e d w i t h i n 8 months of indictment.Cuban judicial p r o c e d u r e does not s e p a r a t ea s s e s s m e n t of the facts of a case fromc o n s i d e r a t i o n of the c h a r a c t e r of the accused.Trial and p r e - t r i a l d o c u m e n t s as well as i n - c o u r ttestimony normally incorporate informationc o n c e r n i n g the social character, work history,personal associations, and prior criminal recordof the defendant, which judges then i n c o r p o r a t einto their s e n t e n c i n g decisions. Consequently,there are no special s e n t e n c i n g hearings, and noformal p r o c e d u r e s for g a t h e r i n g p r e - s e n t e n c i n gi n f o r m a t i o n b e y o n d what is r e v e a l e d at trial.* W h i c h persons have input into the s e n t e n c i n gprocess?I n f o r m a t i o n not obtained.2. Typesof Penalties.* Range of penalties. In 1988, the Cuban PenalCode d e l i n e a t e d the following range of sentences:execution, incarceration, c o r r e c t i o n a l labor withc o n f i n e m e n t to the work site, c o r r e c t i o n a l laborwithout confinement, probation, fines, andpublic c h a s t i s e m e n t (la a m o n e s t a c i o n ) .Prison s e n t e n c e s for serious crimes rangefrom 15 to 20 years for first d e g r e e m u r d e r to 2to 5 years for offenses such as t r a f f i c k i n g inforeign c u r r e n c y and b u r g l a r y of an u n i n h a b i t e ddwelling. The sentences for some m i s d e m e a n o rcrimes can extend beyond the m a x i m u m one yeari n c a r c e r a t i o n that d i s t i n g u i s h e s t h e m from felonyoffenses. For instance, simple p o s s e s s i o n ofillegal drugs or second degree theft can carry ap e n a l t y of 6 months to 2 years of i n c a r c e r a t i o n .The j u r i s d i c t i o n a l level in these cases isd e t e r m i n e d by the level of the p e n a l t y sought bythe prosecutor.* Death penalty. The death p e n a l t y is r e s e r v e dfor "heinous" crimes such as m u l t i p l e murders,murder of a child, m u r d e r a s s o c i a t e d with torture,or for treason. E x e c u t i o n is by firing squad.Persons who were under the age of 20 or p r e g n a n tat the time of the offense or at the time ofs e n t e n c i n g cannot be subject to the death penalty.PRISONi. Description.* Number of p r i s o n s and type. The Cuban penals y s t e m consists of prisons and granjas. Prisonsare fenced and s o m e t i m e s w a l l e d facilities,e s p e c i a l l y in the case of older prisons. Granjas

are open farms w i t h o u t gates or fences. G

WORLD FACTBOOK of CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS cuba by Ray Michalowski Northern Arizona University This country report is one of many prepared for the World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems under Bureau of Justice Statistics grant no. 90-

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