Featured Story

ABA ROLI Assists Armenia in Run-up to Disputed Election

Karen Andreasyan offers legal assistance to a hotline caller on Election Day 2008 in Armenia

A week after the February 19 presidential elections in Armenia, runner-up candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian contested the results and continued to raise controversy over the election of Serzh Sarkisian. Still, the elections were deemed “mostly in line with OSCE commitments and standards” by OSCE observers. Against this backdrop, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI), with funding support from Counterpart International, worked to build public confidence in Armenia’s laws and institutions, and to provide an election hotline offering legal assistance in case of election-related problems and irregularities.

As with Armenia’s 2007 election, ABA ROLI instated a national, toll-free, legal assistance hotline for all Armenian citizens. The hotline dispatched a set of forty “ambulances,” each manned by a civic activist, a lawyer, a reporter and an observer, sent to follow up on calls from citizens who needed on-the-spot legal assistance on election day. 

Due to an assertive public campaign and advocacy carried out for the Hotline Initiative, the Hotline Office received 475 calls—almost 4 times as many as it received during the Parliamentary Elections of 2007. Almost 70 calls out of the overall number sought on-the-spot legal assistance and the Hotline Ambulances were sent accordingly. The remaining 405 calls involved legal consultations over the phone.

In contrast with the 2007 Elections, many more individuals were willing and ready to pursue legal solutions for alleged electoral violations this time around. The Hotline lawyers helped them file complaints to electoral commissions or the prosecutor’s office. The lawyers have decided to continue representing people in cases, as the election hotline continues to receive calls from people who are detained or who have other legal problems relating to the election. 

Another accomplishment of the Hotline Initiative was its key preventive role. At numerous polling stations, potential violations were often suppressed by the mere fact of the Ambulances’ presence. With highly recognizable yellow hats and signs, Ambulance crews stood out from the people in and around the polling stations.

Moreover, the Hotline Office was in close cooperation with various media outlets and updated its online information throughout Election Day. A number of online media announced the Hotline Office information and phone number. 

While building public confidence in the electoral process continues to be a challenge, ABA ROLI held several events before the election day that bring Armenia closer to this goal. Specifically, on January 26, 2008, a Grand Election Forum titled “Free and Fair Elections through Exercise of Law” was co-organized with the Council of Europe and an NGO network. The conference emphasized the important role of the legal system in ensuring free and fair elections.  Representatives from legal and other institutions were invited to the conference, including ambassadors, judges, advocates, prosecutors, journalists, leaders of observation missions and international organizations. Karen Andreasyan, Armenia Staff Attorney for ABA ROLI, presented the hotline concept to the Jan. 26 conference attendees, and recruited their support during election day.

For more information, please contact Karen Andreasyan, <kandreasyan@abaceeli.am>.

People in the News

Kosovo's New Minister of Justice Will Emphasize Anti-Corruption

Nekibe Kelmendi, Kosovo's new Minister of Justice

An interview with Nekibe Kelmendi, Kosovo’s new, and first female, Minister of Justice

Ms.  Nekibe Kelmendi is not only the first woman attorney in Kosovo since 1974; she was also the first Secretary General of the Kosovo Chamber of Advocates (KCA), for four years since 1987; a judge for six years since 1968; co-chair of DOJ with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo from 2000 to 2001; an MP for two mandates; and finally, the first woman to become Kosovo’s Minister of Justice.

Sitting in the new government building office, Ms. Kelmendi discusses with the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) the issues she believes are important to the sector where she took the lead in January 2008.

Q: What is the Ministry’s main priority to be addressed to improve the legal profession in the country?

Kelmendi: In the months to come, our main focus will be drafting laws that come out of the Ahtisaari Plan, a plan that determines Kosovo’s legal and political status. The Ministry’s involvement in other areas will be limited due to our heavy participation in completing this necessary new package of draft laws. However, I’d like to stress here that the Ministry of Justice will support the KCA and legal professionals. I recognize the need to support this profession and the importance that legal professionals have in enforcing the rule of law in the country.   

        
Q:  In the next three years, one of ABA ROLI’s projects is to develop a regulatory bar for attorneys in Kosovo. What will the Ministry’s role be? 

Kelmendi: That’s an excellent development for Kosovo’s Bar. It’s very important that the Kosovo Chamber of Advocates takes its regulatory role as all other bar organizations overseas. Although KCA members have been already represented in highly important institutions, such as the Committee for drafting Kosovo’s Constitution and the Committee on Bar Exam, I’d like to assure you that the Ministry is determined to have a sustainable involvement of KCA members in all regulatory institutions as mentioned above.

Q: You’ve been part of the KCA, for years. What would you recommend to this institution for their future work?

Kelmendi: I admire KCA’s and KJA’s strategic plan in fighting corruption. This is what is needed the most and they’ll have our support on that. In addition, I believe that sooner or later I’ll bring to the government’s agenda the issue of KCA being the only licensing body for Kosovo attorneys. I will stop the unauthorized practice of law, a category of legal professionals who have finished the law faculty and who may not have taken the bar exam and still perform attorneys’ job. I’m aware that this is a KCA request as well. Finally, as a woman in law I’d like to see KCA bring in more incentives for women to practice this profession

Azerbaijan's Ministry of Education Hosts Kick-off for Street Law Program

Araz Esedli, Trainer for the Azerbaijan University Street Law Program, answers a question posed by Zemina Aliqizi, representative of the Baku City Department of Education (lower left), explaining how eighth graders synthesize the information they learn in their lessons, which focus on alternative dispute resolution, and discuss how it can be applied in their daily lives.

In early 2007, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Education welcomed the ABA Rule of Law Initiative’s (ABA ROLI) Street Law program staff, school teachers, principals, representatives of the Baku City Department of Education, and over 75 law students to kick off the second phase of the 2007-2008 Street Law Program.  Ilham Pirmammadov, Head of the Executive Board of the Ministry, heralded the program’s past successes and announced the Ministry’s commitment to ensuring the future sustainability, institutionalization, and growth of the program. 

The ABA ROLI Street Law Program is comprised of two core phases: first, training for law students, and second, lessons for school children.  In the first phase, ABA trainers teach law students how to use interactive methods to present basic legal topics to children.  In the second phase, the law students, in teams of two, move into third, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade classrooms, inspiring young citizens to take a stand on equality, human rights, and corruption.  This second phase began in mid-February.

Throughout the kick-off event, school representatives and students engaged in an active discussion about the purpose, impact, and structure of the program.  Principals described the enthusiasm of the school children and the professionalism of the law students, addressing the concerns of new participants.  Teachers from the experimental program—in which students and teachers teach lessons in pairs—explained the content of the curriculum and style of the teaching methods.  Students explained how the program offered them a new role in their community and a chance to tackle its problems. 

The impact of Street Law is multi-faceted.  The program improves law students’ knowledge of the law, challenges them to communicate these legal rules to school children, and trains the students to use interactive teaching methods.  The program also exposes school children to new concepts while providing them the tools to identify and discuss legal rules as well as to understand how they apply in their daily lives.  Last, Street Law engages a broad audience of teachers, parents, classroom coordinators, and school directors, who all participate with the school children in discussions inside and outside the classroom concerning the issues presented in class. 

Over the past four years, the Street Law Program has grown dramatically.  In its first year, ABA ROLI trained approximately 20 law students who reached out to 200 children in 10 schools.  This year already, ABA ROLI has trained over 155 law students and recruited over 35 schools for participation in the program.

For more information, please contact Valeriya Afandiyeva <valeria.efendiyeva@aba-az.org>.

Pilot CLE Project Begins in Russia as ABA ROLI Welcomes New Country Director

On fall 2007, ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) launched a pilot continuing legal education (CLE) project in Russia as part of a joint partnership with the bar to increase the professionalism and education of the country’s advocates. Together, ABA ROLI and the Krasnoyarsk Chamber of Advocates designed a three phase “Training of Trainers” (ToT) program to develop a core group of professional trainers.

According to Russian law, advocates must complete a minimum of 72 hours of CLE within a 5 year period. While this requirement is fairly reasonable, the absence of an institutionalized CLE system throughout Russia limits the number of available training opportunities and also prevents advocates from receiving quality legal training.

The first training focused on interactive teaching methodologies along with the application of effective teaching methods. The trainers, Arkadiy Gutnikov, Director of the Center of Clinical Education in Saint-Petersburg, Valentina Tereshkova, Professor of International Public Law and Human Rights at Siberian Federal University, and Lidia Voskobitova, Professor of Criminal Procedural Law at Moscow State Academy of Law, worked closely with participants to develop two new training curricula. 

Over the duration of the next 3 months, the trainers and participants will continue to develop these courses, one on “Quality Legal Services,” and the other on “Case Strategy.”  In spring 2008, both courses will be launched using the participants as trainers.

As well, in February 2008, ABA ROLI announced a new Country Director for the Russian Federation. Born in Brussels, Belgium, Gleb Glinka was raised and educated in the United States at Reed College, Yale University, and Temple School of Law.  After working with Legal Aid in Vermont as a Reginald Heber Smith Fellow, Mr. Glinka served as Legal Counsel to the Vermont Secretary of State from 1982 to 1985 and as the first law clerk for the United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Vermont from 1985 to 1987. Since 1988, Mr. Glinka served on the Standing Panel of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustees and since 1998 as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vermont Law School. Since 1986 he has been a founding partner of Glinka & Walls (formerly Glinka & Schwidde), a firm with an AV rating in Martindale-Hubbell and with offices in Cabot and Middlebury, Vermont, which concentrates in commercial law, bankruptcy, and international law.  Last year he was the recipient of the Vermont Pro Bono Award.  In addition to maintaining a private practice, teaching, and serving as a trustee, Mr. Glinka has consulted widely and managed projects abroad for USAID, TACIS, DFID, and others in Russia, Ukraine, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, and Georgia. 

The pilot CLE project, one of a number of programs that Mr. Glinka will direct, is a joint effort supported by USAID, the U.S. Department of Justice’s OPDAT Program, and the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau of the U.S. State Department.  For more information please contact Anton Alferov, Aalferov@abamos.ru or Julie Garuccio, Jgaruccio@staff.abanet.org.

Africa

Congolese Gender-Based Violence Program Takes on First Cases

The new ABA Rule of Law Initiative office in Goma, DRC

Mathieu Ndongo-Koni became Country Director of the new ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) office in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in January 2008. He leads the effort to establish a program to give survivors of sexual violence access to justice and to fight the impunity of offenders. Based on successful recent meetings with government authorities, Ndongo-Koni has already gotten a head start on the program’s goals: he has earned the confidence of the Minister of Justice, hired six staff, and helped the program begin its first two cases.

Widespread gender-based violence in DRC has been used as a weapon in the civil conflict affecting the country, especially in the provinces of South and North Kivu. Various armed groups operate in the villages bordering Rwanda and Uganda. The official statistics from the Ministry of Gender show some 5,000 female survivors of gender-based violence in 2007 in those provinces. These statistics illustrate the importance of ABA ROLI’s work on behalf of the human rights of survivors.

The greatest challenge to ABA ROLI’s work is to establish the office as an outpost for the government’s support. Helping government officials and prioritize the problem of human rights violations, and encouraging them to support and actively sponsor the program, will be the key to success.

Despite this challenge, the program has already made strides toward its goals. Ndongo-Koni arrived in the DRC on January 17 and met with a variety of officials in Kinshasa even before settling into the ABA ROLI office in Goma. After meetings with the Minister of Justice and Minister of Gender, he received official confirmation that the government fully supports the project. The relevant ministers have provided Ndongo-Koni with their contact information in case he encounters difficulties while on the ground and in the field—an enormous advantage when working in a conflict situation.

The office hired six staff, including Mireille Amani, attorney & legal aid clinic manager. Ndongo-Koni has set up a formal partnership with the local Bar Association and Amani has been instrumental in registering the program's first two GBV cases. These cases were referrals to the legal aid clinic newly set up with the support of Heal Africa—an organzation which runs a hospital in Eastern DRC known for assisting survivors of gender-based violence. Other referrals are expected through the advertising campaign being broadcast through local radios and churches.

In the upcoming months, Ndongo-Koni will be meeting with other NGOs to recruit legal assistance for survivors. And meetings with police and judges will be held to develop training curricula on sexual violence cases.

Click here to see more information on ABA ROLI's gender issues programs.

Cambodia’s First Law Student Client Counseling Competition

Ambassador Mussomeli and Cambodian Bar President Ky Tech  pose with the winning team and coach.

On February 28–29, 2008, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) held the first Client Counseling Competition (CCC) in Cambodia’s history.  Teams from five Cambodian law schools (Royal University of Law and Economics, Cambodian Mekong University, Pannasastra University, Build Bright University and University of Cambodia) competed for the honors of national champion.  The national champion was the team from the Royal University of Law and Economics.  That team won a trip to India to represent Cambodia in the International Client Counseling Competition, which will take place in Bangalore, India from April 2–6, 2008.

The competition places teams of law students in a simulated law office environment where they are challenged to conduct a counseling session with a “client” that is played by an actor.  Their performances were scored by local and international judges (mostly lawyers in Phnom Penh).  The students learned to employ important practical legal skills such as active listening, interrogation, empathy, issue spotting, legal analysis, problem solving and teamwork.  The students worked with local lawyers to prepare for the competition.

The CCCC is part of ABA ROLI’s Legal Education Program in Cambodia.  The program focuses partly on assistance to law schools.  The CCCC is an example of the creative and exciting new methods used to teach law students important practical skills that are not being effectively taught in Cambodian law schools.  These skills will make for more effective advocates in the Cambodian justice system.

The competition was held at the Sunway Hotel in Phnom Penh.  East West Management Institute (EWMI) and ABA ROLI were the implementing partners while the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia was the local partner.  Over 100 law students, professors and members of the legal community attended the competition.  ABA ROLI Legal Education Advisor Steven Austermiller was responsible for developing and organizing the competition.

ABA ROLI also helped prepare the students by conducting a client counseling workshop earlier in February.  That workshop was attended by about 50 students and law professors. Austermiller presented the workshop modules.  In the morning, the modules were presented using PowerPoint slides.  The modules also included brainstorming and Q&A sessions.  In the afternoon, Austermiller and EWMI Advisor Rajan Shaw presented a live demonstration of a counseling session.  After that, students watched a DVD presentation on two large screens that showed the actual 2006 U.S. finalist competition.  Teams of Cambodian law students then performed practice counseling sessions with actors and cases provided by the organizers.

Over twenty countries are expected to compete in the international competition in April, including the United States, England, Australia, India, Malaysia, Hong Kong and others.

For more information, please contact Steven Austermiller <Austermiller@ewmi-praj.org>.

Middle East and North Africa

Lebanese Law Students Find Creative Ways to Teach Human Rights

Students role playing during their presentation on interactive teaching techniques

February, the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI), in collaboration with Amnesty International and the Arab Institute for Human Rights, organized a two-day workshop at La Sagesse University (ISSED) for eleven law students who have been selected to work on public education projects.  The public education effort is a component of ABA ROLI’s human rights clinical legal education project in partnership with La Sagesse University Law Faculty, funded by the US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.  The workshops prepared the students to give human rights presentations in Lebanese and Palestinian schools, universities and juvenile prisons.

On the first day, the law students discussed presentation strategies and interactive teaching techniques. The students each arrived to the second and final day of training with a written presentation prepared according to the seven steps learned during the previous session. They demonstrated ingenuity and an open-mindedness that made the presentations very rich. Some brought props with them (such as guitars and road signs) to clearly demonstrate their ideas, others used recorded footage to transmit their message, while others started their presentation with a role play.

These projects are carried out under the supervision of local and international institutions namely, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Mouvement Social, the Arab Institute for Human Rights (AIHR), the Lebanese Council to Resist Violence against Women (LCRVAW) and Amnesty International (AI). Joumana Merhi, Director of the Arab Institute for Human Rights, and Ahmed Karaoud, Head of the Regional Office for Amnesty International in Lebanon, conducted the two-day workshop on presentation skills, interactive teaching skills and techniques and lesson planning, drawing on their extensive experience in this area.

At the conclusion of the workshop, students were asked to complete a written evaluation. According to their responses, all of them found the training very useful and interesting; they noted that they have acquired new skills and developed their knowledge of the subject. They were also very positive regarding the presentations they conducted and how it helped them in understanding the objectives and the methodology of training.

Following this training each student will work on implementing and executing their own human rights education projects under the guidance of their supervisor.  Over the next two months, the students’ learning process will continue; with practice and proper guidance, the students will enhance their training and presentation skills and develop their interactive teaching techniques.

For more information, please contact Nicole Jacobs <njacobs@staff.abanet.org>.