Legal and Justice Development in Algeria

From 2007-2011, the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative’s (ABA ROLI) Legal and Justice Development program in Algeria focused on judicial development, strengthening legal associations’ capacity, and supporting women lawyers. ABA ROLI provided opportunities for lifelong professional learning, to incorporate technology into legal education, to improve relations within the judicial sector and between the judiciary and lawyers, and to establish bridges between Algerian legal professionals and their counterparts worldwide. Together with local bar associations, including the Algiers Bar Association and the Sidi Bel Abbes Bar Association, ABA ROLI supported the development of continuing legal education (CLE) programs. We also worked closely with the national judges training institute, Ecole Supérieure de la Magistrature (ESM), to build its operational capacity and to provide technical assistance on curriculum development. Our programming in Algeria was supported by the US Department of State Middle East Partnership Initiative.

ABA ROLI’s programming in Algeria have:

• cultivated teaching skills through training on teaching methods and interactive techniques
• enhanced the judicial training institute curriculum and supported the judiciary in drafting its ethics code
• helped define local bar association institutional and strategic goals
• pioneered online training sessions for students, sitting judges, and court clerks
• improved the capacity of young women professionals to advocate for women’s rights

Developing Continuing Legal Education

ABA ROLI collaborated with local bar associations to develop their capacity to train legal practitioners on emerging legal topics and on practical legal skills that enhanced their ability to practice law. With our bar association partners, we developed pilot CLE workshops on law practice management, legal aid, training of trainers, anti-corruption and legal ethics. The courses served as models for future CLE programs.

Modernizing Judicial Education 

To support judicial education, ABA ROLI supported the ESM and the Algeria’s school for court clerks (Ecole Nationale des Greffes – ENG), in developing an innovative e-learning program for judges and senior court administrators. The coursework covered important changes in law related to the rights of women and procedural issues related to women’s access to justice and the courts. ABA ROLI worked with the ESM and the ENG to develop seven interactive modules that standardized the information for country-wide dissemination and served as a platform for clarification and consistency in adjudicating cases. The modules addressed children’s rights, human rights, and family law under the Algerian Family Code, and included information on polygamy, gender violence, and divorce. Professional instruction included discussions on the prosecutor’s role in family law cases and on dealing with the public, especially with women.

ABA ROLI supported the judiciary in drafting an ethics code for judges and in developing a course module and teacher’s manual on the code.

After the successful completion of seven Algerian and two universal e-learning modules in cooperation with ESM, ABA ROLI continued to strengthen its operational capacity, with the aim of fully integrating the modules into the ESM curriculum. ABA ROLI also provided technical advice on building an information technology system that supported the implementation of the modules. Additionally, at the request of the ESM, we prepared new courses, including on anti-money laundering, cybercrime, and anti-corruption.