From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Cuban courts are organised into three tiers that match the governmental divisions (national or Supreme Court, provincinal, and municipal). Most civil and criminal cases tried at the municipal and provincial levels are adjudicated by a panel of two lay judges and one professional judge. Cases that involve a potential sentence longer than eight years or complex civil law issues are heard, at the provincial or supreme level, by a panel of three professional judges and two lay judges. Both professional and lay judges are elected to their positions by the legislative assembly that is responsible for that level of government.

Despite the damaging effects of a persistent embargo by the United States, Cuba has developed enviable systems of education and health care. The government also invests scarce resources to restore and preserve historic sites intended to promote the tourism sector of the economy.

Foreign relations of Cuba

The governments of Cuba and the United States have been confronted since the Cuban missile crisis.The Guantanamo Base is an American military base in Cuban territory.

Relations with other American countries have often depended on the proximity of their governments and the American one. In general, leftist government have been friendly to Cuba and rightist ones hostile. Sandinista Nicaragua received help of Cuba. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has agreed to barter Venezuelan oil for Cuban medical assistance.

Cuba has assisted the governments and peoples of several Third World countries, both militarily and in development. There are or have been programs of scholarships for gifted students from Western Sahara and Ethiopia.