Rule of Law Initiative Programs - Moldova
Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity
The ABA Rule of Law Initiative is a member of the NGO Anticorruption Alliance (Alliance). The Alliance was created to assist and monitor the Center for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption in implementing the National Strategy for Preventing and Combating of Corruption.
Criminal Law & Human Trafficking
ABA ROLI's Criminal Law Reform Program works to improve the fairness and effectiveness of the criminal justice system. It promotes the defense bar through advocacy skills and human rights training and implementation of the revised criminal procedure code and criminal code. It also supports anti-trafficking efforts and anti-corruption efforts.
The ABA Rule of Law Initiative has worked with women's advocacy centers and taken part in public education efforts. It has also worked with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Institute for Penal Reform on a project to monitor human trafficking trials, along with those addressing domestic violence and corruption.
ABA ROLI's Human Trafficking Assessment Tool for Moldova (HTAT) (click here to see the report in Romanian or English ) was launched in Moldova during a two-day workshop and in Washington, D.C., at a panel discussion. The HTAT, piloted in Moldova, assesses the compliance of anti-trafficking legislation with U.N. and other international norms, as well as compliance with those laws. The HTAT has been a critical resource for organizations involved in the efforts to combat and prosecute trafficking in humans. The recommendations formulated at the launch workshop were used by government officials and incorporated into the amendments to the National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings for 2005 to 2007. The ABA Rule of Law Initiative has presented the HTAT to law enforcement officials in the regions and distributed copies to government and law enforcement and school officials in each administrative district.
For more information, please contact the Moldova office at office@abaceeli.md.
Gender Issues
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| CEDAW Report Launch. November 2006. |
The ABA Rule of Law Initiative published and launched the CEDAW Assessment Tool Report for Moldova (click here to see the report in Romanian or English ) and took part in a wide range of activities to publicize it. The report measured the degree to which Moldova's laws promote and protect the rights of women, as required by the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the degree to which women are accorded these rights in practice.
In cooperation with Winrock International, ABA ROLI has conducted a series of activities to observe the Sixteen Days of Activism against Gender Violence Campaign, including a presentation at a domestic violence shelter, a round table on woman's advancement and an interview on the legal aspects of the domestic violence for one of Winrock's monthly Destinies and Destinations television programs.
For more information, please contact the Moldova office at office@abaceeli.md.
Legal Education Reform
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| Best Practices Training for Four Legal Clinics. June 2006. |
Legal Clinics
In recent years, The ABA Rule of Law Initiative helped develop and support legal clinics in Balti, Cahul, Comrat, Tiraspol and Parkani that provide students with practical skills to complement their university legal education. These clinics also provide the public with much-needed access to scarce legal services.
ABA ROLI organized two trainings on legal aspects of Moldovan and international efforts to prevent and combat corruption for 25 students each from the Balti Legal Clinic and Cahul Legal Clinic students. Several experts from the Center for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption acted as the trainers.
Public Education
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| Legal Clinic "street law" presentation to Transnistrian high school students. April 2007. |
ABA ROLI's public education program in Moldova is premised on the notion that, to avail themselves of legal services, citizens must know their rights and how to enforce them. By educating the public, the Initiative increases confidence in the rule of law and discourages the pursuit of ad hoc remedies outside the formal legal system.
The ABA Rule of Law Initiative publishes Know Your Rights brochures (in Romanian, with some in Russian) on topics including land lease, domestic violence, inheritance, voters' rights and remedies, employee rights under the labor law, consumer rights, date rape and women's rights in marriage. ABA ROLI distributes these brochures through its advocacy network and other USAID-funded projects.
For more information, please contact the Moldova office at office@abaceeli.md.
Legal Profession Reform and Access to Justice
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| Traveling Lawyer Valeriu Covas [left] with client Serghei Slutu [right]. May 2007. |
Through its advocacy network in Moldova, The ABA Rule of Law Initiative supports improved participation in the justice system and makes high quality free legal services available to people in need. This network is composed of four student legal clinics (see Legal Education Reform ), the Traveling Lawyer Program and specialized NGOs. In past years, the network has provided assistance to more than 6,100 individuals, through approximately 5,800 consultations and more than 300 law suits. The most frequent problems included land, family law, social protection/benefits, employment, and inheritance matters.
Traveling Lawyers
The ABA Rule of Law Initiative provides a monthly stipend and training programs to support a network of nine advocates who travel one day each week to different villages in the rural areas of Moldova. They provide free, high-quality legal services to people who would otherwise be unable to obtain legal advice. The Traveling Lawyer Program includes advocates based in Basarabeasca, Cantemir, Causeni, Drochia, Edinet, Orhei, Soroca, Balti and Ungheni. The Initiative conducts monthly training programs for these advocates on the substantive topics most important to their caseloads, which most frequently include problems of family law, benefits and land disputes. Since the Program began, it has helped more than 16,000 Moldovans.
Training of Legal Professionals
Both the Rule of Law program and the Criminal Law program in Moldova work to improve the skills and substantive knowledge of lawyers. Lawyers located in regions outside of Chisinau point to an especially great unmet need for continuing legal education and more access to legal reference materials.
Trainings
The ABA Rule of Law Initiative trains legal professionals in cooperation with the Moldovan Bar Association and other partners. Recent topics have included legal ethics, human rights mechanisms and trial advocacy skills.
For example, ABA ROLI has conducted trainings on filing claims at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The trainings are designed to increase the awareness among rural lawyers about this human rights tool for their clients. Three experienced lawyers from Amnesty International, Lawyers for Human Rights and Promo-Lex have conducted the trainings and made presentations on the specific articles of the European Convention for Human Rights that have been successfully applied against Moldova in previous cases.
Work with Moldovan Bar Association
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| Moldovan Bar Association Web Site Launch. April 2006. |
The ABA Rule of Law Initiative works to increase the capacity of the Moldovan Bar Association (MBA). It has assisted the MBA in assembling data and preparing the layout and technical specifications for the MBA's official web site, www.avocatul.md. It provides access to a virtual library of legal publications, surveys and research; links to sources of Moldovan legislation, forums, and press releases; and links to various websites of interest to lawyers and other members of the legal community. The site also includes information about the MBA, including its leadership and organization, membership services and upcoming training programs. It also offers contact information for all courts, prosecutors' offices, police stations, public notaries, law firms, legal professionals and governmental institutions located throughout Moldova.
For more information, please contact the Moldova office at office@abaceeli.md.
Other Programs
Assessments and Legislative Commentary
Analytical tools, such as the Prosecutorial Reform, Judicial Reform and Legal Profession Reform Indeces, ABA ROLI’s Assement Tools on Human Trafficking and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, allow the ABA Rule of Law Initiative and its partners to measure the progress of legal reform. Legal assessments provide critical examination of existing laws and practices, raise potential problems and identify areas not yet covered by Moldovan law. Commentaries assist during the legislative drafting process.
ABA ROLI attorneys also conduct extensive analysis and commentary on draft laws and strategies under consideration by Parliament and various Ministries. The ABA Rule of Law Initiative comments have been considered and portions incorporated to improve draft laws on topics including state-guaranteed legal aid, self-administration of the judiciary, family violence, juvenile justice training, regulation of the legal profession, and on a National Strategy and Action Plan for Judicial Reform that will define the country's priorities and actions in judicial reform.
Institution Building
Building the institutional capacity of its partners is a primary element of ABA ROLI's development philosophy. Using the special skills and training of its Institution Building Advisor, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative helps its partners become sustainable and well-managed organizations so that their activities can continue and remain viable as programmatic, management and funding needs and sources change. ABA ROLI's Institution Building Advisor works intensively with advocacy grant recipients and the legal clinics, providing more than 200 individual and group consultations. It also conducts organizational assessments for new partners (and assists with updates for existing partners) to identify organizational strengths and weaknesses and assists with the development of long-term goals to enable organizations to continue to improve their capacity.
For more information, please contact the Moldova office at office@abaceeli.md.
