Trade and Commercial Law Assessment - Honduras - Economic ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

TRADE AND COMMERCIAL LAW ASSESSMENT DECEMBER 2004 HONDURAS If the reform passes the constitutional test, it should bring about salutary change and a new, responsive electronic registry system. The system should move beyond real property to encompass guaranties against movable property and other juridical acts, but in its current state the registry creates a serious stumbling block to any attempt to create a dynamic credit market engaged in serious risk analysis. D. SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONS 1. Notaries and Government Institutions Notaries are repositories of public faith (fe pública) and have exclusive power to certify and authorize acts where their participation is required by law, including the constitution of many of the public legal documents that create garantías reales mobiliarias. In Honduras, unlike in other Latin American countries, there is no limit on the number of lawyers who may become notaries. 78 Almost any lawyer may be a notary, and any lawyer with a commercial practice is expected to be. Among the better law firms and lawyers, however, notarial practice occurs at high levels of competence and the legal requirements are scrupulously adhered to. 2. Professional and Business Associations Honduras has an official bar association to which lawyers must belong (i.e., the Colegio de Abogados). It also has several excellent boutique law firms that engage in commercial practice and a solid core of lawyers educated in the United States or Europe at the top of the profession. The Colegio, however, because of its popular composition, is not a force for change. On the other hand, business and industrial organizations seem to be well organized and quite effective. Among these is the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise, an umbrella organization with active participation in policy-making. In addition, medium, small, and micro enterprises have associations. These associations have often been successful in fostering special sources of credit, funded by government or outside agency donations. A notable association of this type is Fundación Covelo, 79 which offers loans of up to $20,000 to small and micro enterprises. E. SOCIAL DYNAMICS Honduras has various approaches to reform, depending on whom you talk to. Some persons— principally within the government—are quite specific in their targets for reform and quite intent in their desire to carry it out. By and large, private professional players in the Honduran credit market are not very concerned with its reform—although they are quick to recognize its deficiencies and the barriers it presents to socioeconomic growth in Honduras. Many government agencies share their attitude. These vested professional classes are precisely the groups most 78 In some countries, the title of notary public designates a lawyer of exceptional capacity and experience in commercial law and other notarial functions, selected through stiff competition for official designation as a member of an elite at the top of the profession. In Honduras that is not so, and it appears that the test administered by the Supreme Court to become a notary is often more political than professional in nature, according to Honduran lawyers. 79 Fundación Covelo is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to assist and participate in the economic development of small and micro enterprises in Honduras. See further, www.fcovelo.org. VI-7
TRADE AND COMMERCIAL LAW ASSESSMENT DECEMBER 2004 HONDURAS inclined to criticize the new LdP and advocate its overthrow. Whether they will ultimately encourage reform or act as a permanent stumbling block to change remains an open question. F. RECOMMENDATIONS Honduras has laws on its books that would support a reformed credit market and—especially if the registry reform begun for real property by the LdP can be extended into movables and collateral guaranties by new laws now in draft form—could lead to greatly reduced risk in its credit market. The law now requires the following reforms: ♦ A new law of secured transactions, shaping the draft law of garantías reales mobiliarias to make sure that it is consistent with all aspects of the OAS Model Law of Secured Transactions. This should include participation in an effort to regionalize key credit institutions, such as the Commercial Registry ♦ A new law of civil and commercial procedures, currently in draft form before the Supreme Court, that maintains and even improves current expeditious judicial enforcement of collateral guaranties ♦ A wholesale overhaul of the judicial system, with major programs for training of judicial officials and promoting the concept of a judicial career. Currently, judges view their positions as temporary political sinecures and anticipate moving on when the administration changes, despite the fact that the law provides permanent tenure to judges. VI-8
Page 1 and 2: TRADE AND COMMERCIAL LAW ASSESSMENT
Page 51: TRADE AND COMMERCIAL LAW ASSESSMENT
Page 103 and 104:
TRADE AND COMMERCIAL LAW ASSESSMENT
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
T H RADE AND COMMERCIAL LAW ASSESSM
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
show all

Trade and Commercial Law Assessment - Honduras - Economic ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?