News
Law and Civics Courses Begin at Islamic University
For the first time in its history, the Tajik Islamic University in Dushanbe will be including courses on law and civics as part of its regular university curriculum, thanks to a cooperative effort between the university and the ABA Rule of Law Initiative. Read more »»
ROL Initiative Launches Local Governance Legal Training Series
On April 6, 2007, the Rule of Law Initiative hosted a USAID-sponsored local governance training program on Tajik law and available enforcement mechanisms for twenty local government officials representing several khukumats (local government bodies) from the Sughd region of Tajikistan. Read more »»
Programs
Criminal Law Program
With funding from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Justice, the ABAlaunched a criminal law reform program in Tajikistan in 2006. A criminal law reform legal specialist, supported by resident staff, spearheads programs aimed at improving the advocacy skills of defense lawyers, promoting changes in criminal procedure, and assisting the government of Tajikistan in combating trafficking in persons. Read more »»
Legal Education Reform Program
The ABA's Legal Education Reform activities in Tajikistan focus on two broad areas: educating local government officials about the law, and providing basic law and civics education through a Street Law-like model to students in secular and religious settings.
The ABA, in conjunction with the Legal Department of the Sughd Region Body of Executive Authority in the Khujand region of Tajikistan, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in January 2007 to formalize a series of trainings for over 300 local government officials of the Sughd Region Body. The cycle of trainings began in April of 2007 and focuses on the legal status of the local bodies and their responsibilities, as well as on substantive issues of importance to their respective constituencies such as ethics and corruption, the law governing citizen appeals and issues relating to labor, family, housing and land legislation. Read more »»
Publications
Marit RasmussenCountry Director,
Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan
Dushanbe office
6 Saltikov-Shedrin
Dushanbe, Tajikistan 73403
Phone: +992 (372) 21-15-02
Fax: +992 (372) 24-15-05
Background
The Europe and Eurasia Division (CEELI) of the American Bar Association's Rule of Law Initiative launched its program in Tajikistan in 1997 with the placement of its first rule of law legal specialist in Dushanbe. The ABA opened its second office in Tajikistan in 2002 in the city of Khujand.
Since 1997, major ABA projects in Tajikistan have included: assisting in conducting the country's first parliamentary public hearing; conducting substantive training for lawyers and judges on criminal justice reform; assisting in the first-ever publication of a judicial bulletin by the Association of Judges of the Republic of Tajikistan; supporting a cross-border project in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan that seeks to advance citizens' rights by promoting the development of public interest advocates and initiatives in the Ferghana Valley; establishing a nongovernmental organization (NGO) to provide legal consultations to indigent women; launching a legal externship program with local NGOs; and, initiating a training series to develop local government capacity.
Meet Legal Specialists
John Musarra, Legal Education Specialist, oversees the ABA's program of instructing public servants and officials in laws and procedures in local government in two pilot programs in the city of Khujand and the capital city of Dushanbe. He is also responsible for implementing an experimental program of civics instruction at the Tajik Islamic University. Read more »»
Meet Our Staff
Larisa Petrosyan, Program Coordinator, joined the ABA in September 1997. Larisa has provided targeted programmatic and logistical support to projects focusing on local governance and to civic education programs both in religious and non-religious settings. Larisa was also engaged in “My Civic Standing”, a program that offers courses on basic legal principles to primary and secondary school students. Read more »»
