Featured Story

Local Authorities Adopt Successful Court Mediation Program in Jordan

Expert trainer Sharon Press was well received by judges and lawyers during a five day mediation workshop in support of Jordan’s court mediation program.

After the 2006 introduction of court mediation as alternative to Jordan’s lengthy, costly litigation process, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) has been successful in beginning to transfer “ownership” to local authorities. Jordan’s Ministry of Justice is creating formal positions to incorporate the court mediation program within the structure of the Ministry, and a judge was recently seconded by the Judicial Council to serve as the program’s first director. Moreover, the Court Mediation Program Steering Committee has been taking a more active role in policy-related decisions.

The program began as a response to concerns about Jordan's overburdened court system. Among the concerns, experts and local stakeholders cited decreased accessibility to justice and public dissatisfaction with the courts.

ABA ROLI supported the development of court mediation from concept to reality and oversaw expansion from one to six court mediation centers. Throughout the process, ABA ROLI has encouraged Jordanian ownership of this program.

As the program becomes more sustainable, ABA ROLI and the Ministry of Justice are encouraging more attorneys to participate in court mediation. In November 2007, the Ministry of Justice formally sponsored a basic mediation workshop for 12 lawyers, 15 judges and two representatives from the Ministry of Labor. The participants praised expert trainer Sharon Press for her outstanding knowledge and experience in mediation and her engaging presentation.

The Ministry’s role in the training sent a clear signal to stakeholders that court mediation is a sustainable component of Jordan’s justice system—a real encouragement for increased participation by attorneys and other professionals.

For more information, please contact Kathy McEnany <kmcenany@staff.abanet.org>

asia

ABA ROLI Helps Chinese Officials Implement Transparency and Disclosure Rules

Prof. Mo Yuchuan of Renming University of China (far left) shares  access to information developments in China, and implementation challenges moving forward.

From November 27 through 29, 2007, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) supported the participation of the first Chinese delegation in the International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC).  This annual conference brings together information commissioners, ombudsmen and prominent information access advocates from around the world to share experiences and strategize on how to improve access to government information.  The ultimate goal of the conference is to increase transparency and accountability in governance worldwide.

China’s participation in this international forum comes at a critical time. In January 2007, the State Council adopted China’s first national regulations on access to government information.  The “Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Disclosure of Government Information” could mark a significant shift away from the presumption of nondisclosure and the tradition of secrecy.  Under the Regulations, which will go into effect on May 1, 2008, all levels of government above the county level are required to create a system for proactively disclosing information and responding to citizen requests.

The Chinese delegation to the ICIC included Prof. Cheng Jie from Tsinghua University, Ms. Chen Mo from the Bureau of Planning and Finance of China’s State Environmental Protection Agency, Ms. Xiao Zhu from the China Institute of Industrial Relations, and Prof. Mo Yuchuan of Renmin University of China.  Prof. Mo was involved in the drafting of China’s disclosure of government information regulations.

Participation in the conference introduced the Chinese delegates to key advocates for information access from around the world, and to best practices that will inform their implementation of these new requirements in China. ABA ROLI is currently creating training materials for the civil servants who will be implementing the new information disclosure regulations, and researching effective models for implementing information disclosure requirements.

For more information, contact Hyeon-Ju Rho <rhoh@staff.abanet.org>, China Country Director for ABA ROLI.

Europe and Eurasia

New Push to Improve Judicial Education in Georgia

The training introduced seventeen judges from the Supreme Court of Georgia and Court of Appeals to innovative teaching techniques aimed at adult learners, and it encouraged them to diversify their teaching methods.

The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) and the German Technical Cooperation agency (GTZ) recently organized a four-day “train the trainers” program on interactive teaching methodology and curriculum writing for instructors at the High School of Justice of Georgia (HSOJ). The HSOJ is located in Tskaltubo, Georgia, and was organized to provide fourteen months of training for judicial candidates.  The first class began in the fall of 2007.  ABA ROLI is working to help the HSOJ provide instructors with the qualifications and skills to teach substantive law to adult students.  This is the first of three cumulative trainings planned in cooperation with GTZ for the school’s instructors.

The training introduced Georgian judges to innovative teaching techniques aimed at adult learners, and it encouraged them to diversify their teaching methods. Currently, most classes consist of lectures. More interactive teaching methodologies—including group discussions, role playing, and mock trials—will enhance the effectiveness of the lessons and therefore increase the volume of information retained by the trainees.

Seventeen judges from the Supreme Court of Georgia and Court of Appeals participated in this training. In fulfillment of the “train the trainers” approach, these newly trained judges will themselves train judicial candidates in the HSOJ. Former ABA ROLI liaison  and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Judith Chirlin conducted the interactive teaching methodology part of the training. The curriculum writing sessions were lead by GTZ expert Judge Stephan Otto Schmitt.

For more information contact ABA ROLI Georgia Staff Attorney Irina Japharidze at irinaj@abarol.ge

Program Trains Ukraine’s NGOs to Leverage Local Support as International Funds Wane

Participants from partner NGOs engage in a mock fundraising planning exercise as part of the training in Rivne City, Ukraine

A s part of its civil society capacity-building work, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) recently conducted a three-day training workshop on local fundraising for Ukrainian NGOs.  Thirteen representatives from ABA ROLI’s network of partner organizations participated in this training, which was developed to help local partners gain the skills necessary to recruit local donors—one of the main components of organization sustainability.

International donor organizations have been working in Ukraine since the decline of the Soviet Union. But as the volume of international financial support steadily decreases, local donations have come to play a much larger role in the life of Ukrainian NGOs.  Unfortunately, fundraising is not a smooth process.  While NGOs rely increasingly on local funding, prospective local donors lack confidence in the trustworthiness and value of NGOs as partners—when they think about charity at all.

That is why Yana Naralskaya, Ukraine Institution Building Advisor at ABA ROLI, invited Ruslan Kraplych, president of the board of directors of the Fund of the Philanthropist Counts of Ostroh, to lead the training. The fund is one of Ukraine’s most successful modern-day charities, working with businesses, local authorities, citizens, and international donors to raise funds. During the training, participants also visited the chair of the Rotary Club in Rivne City—where the Fund is located—to talk to the stakeholders engaged in charitable giving.

The workshop participants are now poised to begin seeking relationships with local donors. The more successful these NGOs become, the stronger their influence will be in raising the vital concerns of their communities and making citizens more responsible and socially oriented, thereby promoting the rule of law in Ukraine.

The Institution Building Program in Ukraine is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). For more information, contact Katya Kozlova <KatyaKozlova@abaceeli.kiev.ua>.

Moot Court Program Deepens Roots in Jordan

Moot court alumna recreate their winning arguments from the first National Moot Court Competition before 150 law students and professors in preparation for this year’s event.

Eighteen law students and recent graduates who participated in last year’s First Annual National Moot Court Competition in Jordan are now serving as mentors for students preparing for the second national competition.  Sponsored by the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI), these student-led trainings, together with several local qualifying competitions, are designed to build capacity among the universities that will eventually take the lead in conducting future competitions, thereby increasing the sustainability of ABA ROLI’s rule of law work in the region.

Nine Jordanian universities will hold local competitions in December 2007 and January 2008.  Students who qualify during the local competitions will advance to the national competition which will take place in the Palace of Justice in Amman under the patronage of the Ministry of Justice.

To date, 185 law students from the nine schools have registered to participate in this year’s event, compared to the 24 who participated in last year. As in last year’s competition, the topic of debate will relate to the Vienna Convention on the International Sale of Goods.  

At an ABA ROLI-sponsored orientation session on November 3, participants in last year’s competition shared their arguments with about 150 law students interested in participating in this year’s moot court. Confident and candid as they repeated last year’s winning arguments, alumni gave students and professors a first hand account of their experience, with suggestions on how professors can best prepare the students for this year’s expanded event.  The students also argued before professors on November 4 during a faculty “train-the-trainers” workshop designed to prepare professors to organize university competitions and to train students. 

The moot court alumni credited their participation in moot court for enhancing their advocacy skills, building self-confidence, building friendships among students and potential colleagues from other schools, and increasing their visibility among judges and lawyers who participated or attended last year’s competition.  Their willingness to volunteer their time for the student and faculty trainings attests to their appreciation of the moot court program as a way of building skills and connecting to the job market.

Reem Qa’ati, a fourth-year law student at Jordan University, completed an ABA ROLI summer practicum session and happily registered for moot court.  She argued that the national competition has pulled classmates together to prepare the best teams from Jordan University.  “The spirit of this event is cooperation, not competitiveness,” she noted, adding that “expertise and experience developed are the most important results, regardless of who wins the competition.”

For more information, please contact Kathy McEnany, <kmcenany@staff.abanet.org>

Research Log

Assessment Finds Progress in Kosovo’s Legal Profession

Panelists at the 2007 LPRI publication conference

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) has published its second Legal Profession Reform Index for Kosovo (LPRI Volume II). This new LPRI found no downward trend from the initial report published in 2004.  Overall the 2007 index saw five factors trend upwards and 19 factors remain unchanged.

The LPRI assesses the current state of the legal profession using a series of 24 factors that reflect some of the fundamental characteristics of legal professions in democratic countries. Within the LPRI, a wide range of issues are presented in five general categories: professional freedoms and guarantees; education, training, and admission to the profession; conditions and standards of practice; legal services; and professional associations of lawyers.

To collect the data involved in the LPRI analysis, ABA ROLI recruited Daniel Fitzgibbon, an American lawyer and long-time independent assessor for this and other rule of law indices. He and his Kosovo team reviewed all legislation relating to the legal profession in Kosovo, and interviewed lawyers, members of the judiciary, government officials, non-governmental representatives, journalists and international organizations.  The initial findings of the report were then reviewed for comment by numerous domestic and international partners.

The LPRI series is a very important tool for ABA ROLI, other international organizations and donors, and local partners, as it enables them to create targeted legal profession reform programs and take quantifiable measures of their impact.  The Index helps monitor progress towards establishing a more ethical, effective and independent legal profession. 

During November 27 rollout event for the LPRI, USAID Senior Rule of Law Advisor John Allelo praised the assessment, saying “The LPRI contributes to the ongoing development of a strong, independent and transparent legal profession in Kosovo.”

Click here to read the Kosovo Legal Profession Reform Index, Volume II | also available in Albanian & Serbian

People in the News

Rakovica and Shkodra Celebrate Five Years of Service

From left to right: Laura Rakovica and Vjosa Shkodra

The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) recognized staff members Laura Rakovica and Vjosa Shkodra for their five years of service to the organization as it promotes the rule of law in Kosovo. Laura and Vjosa both joined ABA ROLI on April 8, 2002. Since then, both have grown in their positions taking the lead on very important projects implemented by ABA ROLI in Kosovo.

When she first joined ABA ROLI, Laura worked on production of the cumulative annual index of all legal materials promulgated in Kosovo by UNMIK. Moving on from this, Laura spent her time on the Public Awareness Program, arranging student court visits in the different regions of Kosovo. Besides those two responsibilities, she took the lead in managing four significant publications: “We don’t vote, but we have rights,” a book on children’s rights based on the European Convention on Exercise of Children’s Rights; “The Manual for School Committee,” a manual to guide high school committees toward better organization; “Poetry,” a book of poems written by high school students regarding children’s rights; and the most recent book and project, TeenLaw, a “Street Law” style course targeted to high school students on human rights, law, and the judicial system in Kosovo.

Vjosa Shkodra has pursued important projects of her own as part of ABA ROLI in Kosovo. She started by organizing legal profession reform trainings and helping Kosovo’s attorneys in developing their professional skills. Next, she dealt with projects supporting the Kosovo Chamber of Advocates (KCA) such as the “Project on Ethics and Disciplinary Measures.”  In addition, she has helped law students in Kosovo pursue their Praktikant experience in attorney’s offices. Finally, she has worked on the Legal Clinic Project, which after a number of years is now part of the regular curriculum of the University of Pristina Law Faculty.

Vjosa and Laura have embodied the three main qualities of dedicated service during their five years with ABA ROLI: Clear impact and concrete results, healthy cooperation with stakeholders involved in all projects, and excellent team work. They are both looking forward to supporting ABA ROLI’s projects in Kosovo for years to come.