Kyrgyzstan Featured Staff
Azamat Kerimbaev, Senior Staff Attorney, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
"It has been a great honor and pleasure to be a part of the ABA family for the last eight years. As always, ABA programs in Kyrgyzstan rely upon proven ABA strengths, such as access to an extensive network of legal expertise, flexibility, awareness of on-ground needs, and cooperation with other donors and assistance providers."
Azamat joined the ABA in May 1999 after working at the Kyrgyz Embassy in Washington, D.C., and in the Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A native of Bishkek, Azamat holds a law degree from the Kyrgyz State University and a degree in international relations from the Kyrgyz Diplomatic Academy.
Azamat monitors and analyzes legal developments in Kyrgyzstan while also working with ABA legal specialists to develop new programs for the Rule of Law Initiative. During his eight-year tenure with the ABA, Azamat has been involved in a number of programs and projects including: legal resource center development; legislative drafting assistance and the provision of technical assistance on constitutional reform; drafting and implementing the 2003 Judicial Reform and Legal Profession Reform Indexes for Kyrgyzstan; the production of educational manuals for universities on legal ethics and advocacy skills; as well as a variety of criminal justice reform and anti-corruption projects.
Azamat's current projects include the following:
- Public Legal Education: Development, production and broadcasting of analytical programs and public service announcements on Kyrgyzstan television to educate the public and foster public discussion by focusing public attention on pressing legal/constitutional issues that concern failures in the rule of law.
- Bar Reform: Providing technical assistance in the process of establishing a Unified National Bar to help raise the status of the profession within society and increase its ability to advocate effectively for change, as well as for establishment of an Advocates' Training Center to support continuing legal education and raise the quality of services rendered by the defense bar.
- 2007 Prosecutorial Reform Index (PRI) for Kyrgyzstan: Providing legal assistance and contributing to the PRI assessment and development process. The PRI assesses 28 factors key to the effective and equitable function of the prosecution within a system of criminal justice.
Azamat is a recipient of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative Service Award in appreciation of five years of dedicated service (July 2004). He is also a recipient of a Special Certificate of appreciation and merit for seven years of exemplary and dedicated service as the National Administrator for Kyrgyz National Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition presented by the International Law Students Association (ILSA) in January 2007.
