September 2011

 Earlier this summer, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI), in coordination with the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office in Idaho, hosted 15 Tajikistani legal professionals for a one-week study tour to Boise, Idaho, and Washington, DC, as part of its legal education and exchange program. The program affords participants an opportunity for comparative legal studies, mentorship, English language training and professional development.

During their stay in Boise, the visitors engaged at length with their American counterparts. They also observed the American criminal justice system from arrest to incarceration. They attended seminars conducted by prosecutors, public defenders and judges. The group visited a maximum-security prison and toured a juvenile detention center, speaking with youth about rehabilitation programs. Later, they visited a forensics laboratory and rode with on-duty police, watching as the police responded to calls and made arrests. Additionally, the participants shadowed their counterparts for a day in their offices and in court.

While in Washington, DC, the group met with members of the District of Columbia Superior Court, Public Defender’s Office and American Bar Association and discussed various issues, including professional ethics, disciplinary actions, court proceedings and domestic violence.

The study tour was a culmination of a three-month training series in which participating judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys studied comparative principles of criminal justice and enhanced their English language skills. The tour stands to benefit ongoing criminal system reforms in Tajikistan, following the country’s 2010 adoption of a Criminal Procedure Code that incorporates adversarial elements similar to U.S. criminal procedure.

ABA ROLI’s legal education and exchange efforts in Tajikistan are funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.

To learn more about our work in Tajikistan, contact the ABA Rule of Law Initiative at rol@americanbar.org.