May 2009

In February 21–22, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) trained lawyers in trial advocacy skills in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in Azerbaijan. Nakhchivan is isolated geographically and ABA ROLI is the only U.S. government-funded non-governmental organization with consistent programming in the region.

The Nakhchivan Collegium of Advocates, the local defense bar, operates independent of the national defense bar, the Collegium of Advocates of Azerbaijan, holding its own bar exam, licensing attorneys and collecting its own membership fees. Due to lack of resources, however, the Nakhchivan collegium is unable to adequately serve the community’s needs. Fewer than 10 attorneys are licensed to defend criminal matters in the region. Both the licensed lawyers and unlicensed lawyers, who work on civil matters, have received very little practical skills training.

ABA ROLI worked with local experts to host the two-day trial advocacy training to help alleviate these problems. Intiqam Aliyev, president of the Legal Education Society, and Turkel Suleymanli, a defense lawyer and member of the national collegium, visited Nakhchivan to lead the training. A total of 36 participants, including members of the Nakhchivan collegium, and professors and graduate law students from Nakhchivan State University, attended the training.

The first day training addressed trial advocacy skills, including opening arguments, and direct- and cross-examinations. On the second day, the participants exercised direct- and cross-examinations in groups. Effective closing arguments were also discussed, followed by small-scale mock trials to allow participants to exercise their newly gained skills.

ABA ROLI supplied more than 100 legal books and brochures for use by training participants and professors at Nakhchivan State University. Participants were also provided with relevant training materials, including the cases discussed at the training, international documents and domestic legislative acts.

Participants hailed the training and requested additional trainings on topics including the criminal investigation process, human rights, preparing legal documents, drug-related crime and human trafficking. ABA ROLI is committed to expanding its programming in this underserved region.