It is an independent state, located in the "heart" of
South America.
It is divided into two regons: the oriental one, made ups of hilly and fertile valleys that take up the Amambay, Mbaracayú and Caaguazú mountain,range, and the occidental one, which is extensive Chaco Boreal plain that limits to the south with the Pilcomayo River surrounded by low sandy hills of no more than 100 meters high.
LIMITS
To the North, the country, has boundaries with Bolivia and Brazil; to the east with Brazil and Argentina; to the south with Argentina and to the west with Argentina and Bolivia.
Administratively the country is divided into 17 departments.
SURFACE
406.752 Kms.
POPULATION
5.719.047 inhabitants. Paraguay is little populated, being its denisty:
11,4 inhabitants per square Kilometer. Most of the people are located in the Oriental Region.
ECONOMY
Its main source of wealth comes from agriculture, livestock and water power.
CLIMATE
The climate is generally warm, being the annual average degree 23°C.
The country lies between the tropic of Capricorn, latitude 20° and 30° and the parallel 55° and 65°.
OFFICIAL
LANGUASGES
Paraguay is a pluricultural country with two official languages: Spanish and Guaraní
NATIONAL FLOWER
Azucena of Paraguay also Known as Jazmín of Paraguay.
NATIONAL TREE
Tajy or "Lapacho".
MONETARY UNIT:
Guaraní
HIDROGRAPHY
Paraguay has no seacost. It is a Mediterranean country. The most important rivers are the Paraguayan River with a length of 30862 Kms. Its headwater is in the state of Matto Grosso, Brazil, and cross the coutry from North to South While the other big, deep and swift one. Is de Paraná River with borders the Brazilian boundary of about 4.500 Kms. In the south. The country has two lakes: Ypóa and Ypacaraí.
POLITICIAL ORGANIZATION
Paraguay is a unitary with a democratic representative governmen. The Paraguayan state is made up of thee branches: Executive, Legislative and Judicial.
The executive branch is under the Presiden of the Republic himself, is chosen by the people’s vote only for a 5 year-term.
He is in charge of enforcing the law of the country.
THE
LEGISLATIVE
BRANCH
It is composed by the National Congress with its two
chambers:
The Senators with 45 regular members and 30 replacements, and the house
of representatives with 80 regular members and the same amount of
replacements.
This branch makes the law of the country.
THE JUDICIAL
BRANCH
It is composed by the supreme Court of Justce, The Tribunals and judges according to the Nacional Constitution and the law. This branch is considered to the independent and the only one that know and decide on legal subjects. Can the former judicial system was inquisitive and had judges in First Instaces that were able to instruc, investigate, sentence and control the sentence to be carried out and, which constitutues it in judge and part of the case. But since the the new Processal and Penal Code (Law 1286/98) is in force, the Judicial system changed to become accusatory.
The Judicial Branch is composed of the Supreme Court of Justice, The Counsel of the Magistracy, the Public Ministry and the high for the Electoral Justice.
SUPREME COURT
OF JUSTICE
The Supreme Court of Justice is integrated by 9 members and is organized in chambers: Constitutional, Civil, and Penal.
Its members are named as Ministers and they can be tried any while working in their posts.
The Supreme Court of Justice exrts jurisdiction in the whole country. Besides the power to judge, it also exerts the Superintendence with disciplinary power ovver the courts, judges and Judicial Power Offices.
OF THE
NATIONAL
AUDIT OFFICE
It is composed by two chambers, each one integrated by members. The chamberis in chrge of the litigious and administrative cases in dispute and the Second Chamber is in charge of the control of the investment account of the Nation Expenditure General Budget.
OF THE COURT
OF APPEAL
The courts of Appeal are composed by various codes of law in the Civil, Criminal and Labor Fields.
Each chamber is integrated by at least 3 members.
Besides the above cited bodies, there are other jurisdictional bodies, in the cases and forms that laws determine as well as the Sentence Courts,the penal judges, and Justice of the peace.
OF THE COUNSEL OE THE MAGISTRATURE
The council of the Magistracy is integrated by 9 members, in compliance with the Nacional Constitution which establishes the rules about its members.
It is the body in charge of selecting and proposing the list of candidates for Ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice, members of the low courts, judges, General Public Prodecutor, Attached Public Prosecutor, Attached Public Prosecutor, Attached Public Prosecutor, Agent Prosecutors.
OF THE PUBLIC
MINISTRY
The Public Prosecutors Offices and the Agent Prosecutors represent the society before the jurisdictional bodies of the state.
They have funcional and administrative autonomy to
carry
out their duties and attributiond. The public Ministry is headed by the
General Public Prosecutor, Agent Prosecutor.
PARAGUAYAN
POLICE
BRIEF HISTORICAL ACCOUNT
On September 20, 1840, the Dictador Dr. José Gaspar
Rodrigues de Francia died and marked the beginning ofnew era in The
contry.
Soon after warrds it was formed what it was known as the second
Consulate which was integrated by Carlos Antonio López and Mariano Roque Alonzo, both assigned as consuls. This second
Consulate on March 8, 18, 40 created the Police, being its Chief the citizen called Don Pedro Nolazco Fernández institution was set up underthe name: "Arrangement of the Capital PoliceDepartmene".
The new National Constitution that was elaborated by the same National Constituent Assemby was in force since June 20,1992. New bodies were created and among them, the National Police. Art. 172 clearly cites that the Public Forces are composed mainly and exclusively by the Military and Police Forces. Art. 175 establishes that the National Police is a professional, nondeliberant and obedient institution organized as a permanent body depending, in hierarchy, on the Executive Power in charge of the internal security, of the nation; and within the Constitutional and law schemes has the mission to keep the public order legally established, as well right and security of people and entities and their personal properties; to prevent the offenses freom happening, to execute the mandate of the competent authority and under the judicial command to investigative the offenses. Finally, it is established that, the law will rule its organization and attributions.
The cited constitutional article clears up by saying that the Command of the National Police, will be headed by a Senior Police office of its permanent body and that the police in activity will not be able to neither participate as an anffiliate, in political party or movement or carry out any poliycal activity.
In virtue of the new National Constitution of the Republic, for the first time on October 8, 1992 by the decree Nr. 15.108 a policeman, General Commissioner Don Germán Gabriel Franco Bargas was appointed as Chief of the Police of the Capital.
On September 2, 1993, he was namend as the Interim Commandant of the recently created National Police Howerver, the General Commissioner Don Germán Gabriel Franco Vargas ded not have enough time to organize implemented the novel instution.
Which came from different bodies with public securities functions.
The National Police was implemented during Juan Carlos Wasmosy Administration, being assigned as Commandan the General Commissioner MARIO AGUSTIN SAPRIZA NUNES by the decreeNr. 1734 on the 29th of December, 1993.
NATIONAL
POLICE
ORGANITATION
The National Police is organized in virtue of the law Nr.222/93, Art. 149 of this law; the National Police for teh accomplishment of their goals is organized into:
OF THE GENERAL
MANAGEMENT
They are:
GENERAL
OFFICE FOR
ORDER AND SECURITY
It is the body in change of enforcing the fundamental goal of the Police. They make up the Police Zone Offices, the office for Technical Support and the Police to be able to carry out its mission in 6 Zone Offices. Each one has several Police headoffices in the Departments. They are in charge of planning, organizing and executing the police actities for maintaining public order the preservation of security of the people and their goods and also the prevention and investigation of Offences.
THE OFFICE
FOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT
It is the one inn charge of planning, organizing and
executing
technical
And scientific support if the folling offices:
investigation of offenses, Interpol, Judicials,
communications,Informatic
Migrations, Narcotics and Family Affairs.
THE TACTICAL
SUPPORT OFFICE
It is in charge of supporting thr police operations for the various Police Branch Offices. They compose the following groups: Specialized, Security, Motorized, firemen; Riders, Ecological and Rural Protections,Waterways and Air.
GENERAL DEPARTMENT OF POLICE
TEACHING INSTITUTES
It is in charge of planning ,organizing, coordinating activities and perfetion in the technical and scientific field as well as the cultural aspect of the police personnel.
GENERAL DEPRTMENT
OF LOGISTICS
It is in charge of planning, organizinng and controlling the materials assigned to the institution. They make up:the Administrative office and the following branches: Workshops and Transportation, Constrctions, Weapons and Ammunitions, Statistics, Patrimony and Documents and Infor mation Cente
GENERAL DEPARTMENT OF POLICE
WELLBEIN
It is in charge of the permanent search for and
protection
of recreation, social, support, education and other aspects on their
wellbeing
.
They make up the following and Economics
Intitutions,Social
Support, JuridicalSupport, Chaplaincy, House for
rest
and for minors and the Police Medical Examination board.
LAW 1286/98.POLICE PROCEDURE
(PENAL PROCEEDINGS CODE)
The penal proceedings code in one ofits chapter refers to the police intervention
1°) The preliminary inquiry:
all the workers and National Police agennts who know about an offense
with
public penal action, will the Public Ministry and to the judge.Under
the
investigation, they will practice the preliminary inquiry to gather or
secure urgently the elements of conviction and avoid the escape or
hiding
of the suspicious ones.
They will act analogically when
the Public Ministry orders the a preventive investigation.
2°) Faculties: The National
Police will have the following aculties, without sacrifying the
others established in the National
Constitution and special laws:
Reception of written denounces or
writing of the acts
of verbal denouncers, as taking the written declarations of the
denouncers;
Reception of concrete declarations from those who have
witnessed the commission of some offense and their correct,
identification
;
To practice the diligence oriented to the physical
individual ization of the people involved in the illicit case;
To find out about the date to be used for the identification
of the charged individual and in this respect hi is able to interview,
the suspected person, so to adopt urgent and
necessary measures needed
in the case.
To apprehend the presumed actors and accomplices according
to the Procedural Processing code.
To practice the filing of persons, as well as to help
the victims and protect the witnesses;
To watch over and protect the place where the illicit
took place and to preserve that the elemens are not erased.
To draw up the designs, take pictures, to make recording
in videos and other technical and Scientific Operations;
To collect and keep any object and instrument related
to the case.
To seizure documents to be used in the investigation
with judicial authorization. The police personnel is not allowed to
open
the seised mail. They must be sent intact to the
Public Ministry.
To guard, under inventory, the objects that can be
seized; and .
To gather all the urgent information that may be useful
to the Public Ministry.
3°) The basic principles of acting: the
officers and the Police Agents will have to apprehend or detain the
accudsed
person in the
cases that the Processal Penal
code authorizes it, taking into account the following basix principles:
a) To make use of the force only when it is strictlynecessary and in the proportion required for the detention tobe excuted.
b) Not to be used weapons, except when.