ABA ROLI Trains Partners for Ukrainian Elections

September 2008

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) continues its multi-disciplinaryapproach to promoting improved understanding of the accusatorial system in Ecuador. More than 200 representatives from the prosecutor’s office, the National Judicial Council and the judicial police in Cuenca, Quito and Guayaquil attended three conferences held in August. The event was part of a series of conferences tobetter prepare judges, prosecutors and police for participation in oral trials,as mandated by the Criminal Procedure Code of 2000.  

The latest conferences featured panel sessions led by experts, including ajudge, a prosecutor, a defense lawyer and a federal agent. After presenting the under pinnings of the accusatorial system, each specialist detailed how the concepts pertained to their specific roles. The agenda highlighted various components of the accusatorial system, from indictments and evidence to opening statements and interrogations. Open dialog sessions and case study discussions allowed for two-way communication and practical learning opportunities by theat tendees.

By instilling a stronger understanding of procedural matters, the eventserved to develop the participants’ accusatorial trial knowledge and associated skills. ABA ROLI’s program in Ecuador will continue to bring togethermulti-disciplinary actors to improve the transitioning of Ecuador’s judicial system, which in turn helps to ensure a more robust and fair legalsystem for all Ecuadorians.

For more information about ABA ROLI’s work in Ecuador, contact Charles Caruso at <carusoch@staff.abanet.org>.

09.07.2007

On August 10 and 11, 2007, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative held a seminar on electoral law in Kyiv. During the event, twenty representatives of ABA ROLI’s partner organizations from throughout Ukraine were trained in preparation for the upcoming early Parliamentary Election scheduled for the end of September 2007. The participants studied a variety of election-related subjects and acquired skills necessary for rendering high-quality pro bono consultations to voters and electoral commission staff. Among topics covered were the rights and duties of subjects of electoral law, appeals at different stages of the electoral process and potential issues for litigation. The training was conducted to increase ABA ROLI’s advocacy and legal clinical partners’ capacity to provide high-quality legal aid services during Ukraine’s election process.

The training was conducted in partnership with Development Associates, Inc.’s “Strengthening Electoral Administration in Ukraine” Project, which contributed two trainers, Volodymyr Kovtunets’ and Yevhen Zherebets’ky, and the training materials. The trainers used interactive and participatory teaching approaches and held entry and final tests. The tests indicated substantially improved knowledge and skills in the subject. Andriy Vovk and Iryna Senyuta, the two participants who achieved the best scores on the final test, received compilations of elections-related court decisions as prizes from the trainers.