Central America

Central America is the isthmus connecting North and South America, and though geographically considered part of the North American continent, it is rarely included in cultural, economic, or political mentions of North America. The North American Free Trade Agreement, for instance, does not include any Central American country. Some discussions of Central America include Mexico, which shares a Spanish heritage with the Central American nations that it does not with the bulk of North America (though this glosses over the long Spanish history of much of the United States and the interconnections of American and Mexican history). With the exception of Belize and Panama—neither of which yet existed—the nations of Central America were members of the Federal Republic of Central America, a democratic state that existed from 1823 to 1840, after the region became independent from Spain. Political instability prevented not only the survival of the republic, but the planned construction of an inter-oceanic canal, an idea that was not realized until the construction of the Panama Canal in the 20th century.

That was not the last gasp of Central American integration, though. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, region-wide institutions have developed, [Page 247]moving toward the possibility of a European Unionlike regional unity. The Central American Court of Justice that was instituted in 1907 was first proposed by Mexico and the United States, and was hashed out at the Central American Peace Conference that was hosted by Secretary of State Elihu Root. Rather than attempt political union at that time, Root and others suggested that they agree to a common court of justice. The experiment lasted 10 years, until Nicaragua terminated its involvement and the other countries decided not to continue without it; member state governments were unhappy with the extent of the court's jurisdiction, while judges were unhappy with their governments' influence on their decisions.

In the aftermath of World War II, as the world reorganized itself in light of the end of European empires and the beginning of European union, and amidst the growing global conflicts of the Cold War, more serious discussions of integration began. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua signed a 1951 treaty creating the Organization of Central American States (ODECA) to promote regional cooperation, and reinstituted a regional court, the Corte Centroamericana de Justicia (CCJ). In 1960 the governments of Central America made plans for the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, and the Central American Common Market, but when war broke out between Honduras and El Salvador in 1969, integration came to a halt.

It was revived again in 1991, in the aftermath of the Cold War. The Central American Integration System (SICA) was instituted by the countries of Central America with the addition of the Caribbean nation of the Dominican Republic. The CCJ's role was refined to promote peace among member-states, and has jurisdiction over cases between member-states, between member- and non-member states when the latter consents to jurisdiction, between any state and any resident of a member-state, and cases that involve the integration process. Significantly, it also has the power and responsibility to consult with the Supreme Courts of member-states, for the purpose of promoting a common legal philosophy in the region. There is also a Central American Parliament (Parlacen), with directly-elected members, though Costa Rica has not yet ratified its charter and remains a non-participant. Though not as unified as the European Union, SICA certainly represents an intent and goal of Central American unity to a similar degree.

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