Kyrgyzstan Headlines
- Law Students from Five Bishkek-Based Universities Participate in Client-Counseling Competition From February 1–2, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative hosted a client-counseling competition for Kyrgyzstani law students.
- Continuing Legal Education Helps Female Lawyers Join Forces to Further Justice Not long ago, continuing legal education (CLE) opportunities were nothing more than a dream for Kyrgyzstani lawyers. While course offerings remain modest, such trainings are increasingly more available to legal professionals thanks to a range of ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) programs.
- A School Teacher-Turned-Lawyer Fights for Justice as She Inspires Others to Do the Same At first she worked on small litigations and minor civil cases. Eventually, she expanded her practice area and began to represent clients in criminal cases, including by defending individuals accused of terrorism.
- A Civic Education Project in Kyrgyzstan Forms the Foundation of Lawyer’s Career Nodira Akbaralieva couldn’t comprehend the significance at the time, but 11 years ago the then third-year law student at the Kyrgyz-Uzbek University made a simple decision that ultimately merged her profession with her passion.
- Trainings Prepare Kyrgyzstan’s Lawyers for Jury Trials In 2009, Kyrgyzstan passed a law that provides for jury trials for certain criminal cases in the Bishkek and Osh districts beginning in 2015. In anticipation of the introduction of jury trials, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) and the Advocates Training Center (ATC) held a one-day training for legal professionals on teaching jury-trial skills.
- Post-conflict Civic Education Course Incorporated into Kyrgyzstan’s Secondary-School Curriculum In January, Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Education and Science integrated into its national curriculum for ninth graders a post-conflict civic education course the ABA Rule of Law Initiative developed.
- Defense Attorneys in Kyrgyzstan Attend Workshops on Their Safety and Protection Since the June 2010 ethnic violence, attorneys in Kyrgyzstan have increasingly become the target of threats and physical attacks for representing politically unpopular defendants.
- Street Law Program Helps Unite Multi-Ethnic Communities Gulipa Kozhogulova is a resident of Yuzhny neighborhood in the southern city of Osh, Kyrgyzstan. A retired artist and chair of the Female Council of her neighborhood, she is fully engaged in raising her grandchildren.
- Central Asian Lawyers Trained in International Human Rights Law The ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) and the International Commission of Jurists co-sponsored an October 18–23 conference on international human rights law in Geneva.
- Law Professors Participate in an Anti-Human Trafficking Training From February 9–13, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) held a training of trainers using an anti-human trafficking curriculum it developed for Kyrgyzstan.
- Central Asian Lawyers Take Part in Trial Advocacy Training From December 10–12, 2010, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) brought together 23 lawyers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a trial advocacy skills training in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
- Trainings Foster Free and Fair Elections in Kyrgyzstan On October 10, Kyrgyzstan held emergency parliamentary elections, which followed recent political changes and tragic ethnic violence that started with the ousting of former president Kurmanbek Bakiev in April.
- Trainings Enhance Judges’ Ability to Handle Election Disputes in Kyrgyzstan In Kyrgyzstan, the past year has been defined by traumatic political change and tragic ethnic violence following the ouster of former president Kurmanbek Bakiev.
- ABA ROLI Hosts Sustainability Workshop for Kyrgyz Street Law Centers From November 15–16, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) conducted a workshop on financial sustainability of street law centers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
- Kyrgyz Street Law Programs to Begin Independent Operation The ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) is working toward a smooth transition to local centers operation of its Kyrgyz street law programs by February 2010.
- Kyrgyz Legal Professionals Receive Jury Trial Trainings In July and September, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) in Kyrgyzstan, with funding from the British Embassy in Kazakhstan, organized jury trial trainings for Kyrgyz judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys.
- Kyrgyzstan’s Lawyers and Judges Adjust to New Criminal Procedure Code In February 2008, ABA ROLI conducted a four-day training event at Hotel Raduga on Lake Issyk-kul, along with the German Association for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the US Department of Justice, and the Judicial Training Center of the Kyrgyz Republic.
- Public Legal Education Pioneers in Southern Kyrgyzstan The public legal education program in Kyrgyzstan is one-of-kind. In addition to having taught more than 7,000 young people about their legal rights as citizens, ABA ROLI's street law-type program has dramatically affected those young people who chose to participate in the program.
- Kyrgyzstan’s Madrassa Students Participate in Street Law Classes Since early childhood, 28 year-old Kanishai Kojoakmatova dreamed of becoming a lawyer.
- Attorneys Trained on Human Rights Protection Mechanisms On November 29, 2008 the Advocates Training Center in Kyrgyzstan, with the support of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT), conducted a scheduled training for practicing defense attorneys.
- ABA ROLI Analyses Kyrgyzstan’s Draft Freedom of Assembly Law In May 2008, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative completed an analysis of Kyrgyzstan’s draft legislation on freedom of assembly. The analysis highlights how Kyrgyzstan’s proposed freedom of assembly legislation falls short of international standards.
- ABA ROLI Hosts Training Seminar for Advocates The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) recently conducted a day-long training for advocates (criminal defense attorneys) in the Kyrgyz Republic.
- ABA ROLI-Sponsored Advocate Training Center Officially Registered in Kyrgyzstan On December 25, 2008, an ABA ROLI-sponsored Advocates Training Center (ATC) was officially registered as a public foundation in the Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic.
- ABA ROLI Coordinates Analysis of Kyrgyz Criminal Procedure Code In partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training (OPDAT), the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) recently organized an independent analysis of the Kyrgyz Republic's Criminal Procedure Code by four international experts.
- Kyrgyzstan Street Law Olympiad Students from the Rule of Law Initiative's Street Law Program in southern Kyrgyzstan competed in the annual Street Law Olympiad in Osh on May 23
- Raising Awareness About Jury Trials in Kyrgyzstan In Kyrgyzstan, where the Parliament is considering a draft law introducing jury trials in compliance with the new constitution, the Rule of Law Initiative has produced and has begun broadcasting a documentary and a series of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) intended to raise public awareness about the benefits of trial by jury, and to explain how the jury system can act to protect individual and human rights.
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