June 2009

Participants engaged in dialogue during the roundtable discussion on Tajikistan's Criminal Procedure Code.

In early April, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) in collaboration with the Judicial Training Center and Majlisi Namoyandagon of the Majlisi Oli (lower chamber of the Tajik parliament) organized a two-day roundtable discussion on the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) draft.

Law professors and judges from different locations and attorneys from the local collegia of advocates (bar association) attended the event, allowing the parliament representatives to get direct feedback from lawyers, judges and advocates on the draft CPC. An ABA ROLI-hosted international legal expert, Dr. Nikolai Kovalev, along with ABA ROLI staff attorneys, also participated in the discussion. Kovalev’s written commentary on the CPC draft was shared in advance with the parliament and with roundtable participants.

Ubaidullo Davlatov, deputy chair of the Majlisi Namoyandagon, Shermukhammad Shokhiyon, chair of the Council of Justice, and Marit Rasmussen, ABA ROLI Country Director, opened the discussion with brief remarks. The welcoming remarks were followed by an update on the draft provided by Abdurakhmon Azimov, committee chair on constitutionality, legislation, and human rights. Azimov gave an overview of the most critical changes in the draft while Kovalev briefly presented his major findings.

The roundtable’s five sessions, each facilitated by parliamentary representatives, covered the most controversial themes, such as participants of court proceedings, evidence and proof, procedural terms, preliminary investigation, court proceedings and proceedings on juvenile delinquency. Major discussion issues included the detention period of the suspect and the accused (custody terms), returning a case for additional investigation, pre-trial review of case materials by court, release on bail, search warrant, admissible and inadmissible evidence, and expert opinion. Participants agreed that these aspects of CPC needed revision to comply with the principles of presumption of innocence, adversarial process and other international standards.

To learn more about our work in Tajikistan, contact the ABA Rule of Law Initiative at <rol@staff.abanet.org>.