Democracy, Governance and Social Transition
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Rule of Law
 Russian Judiciary Honors USAID Rule of Law Advisor
On September 2, 2008, the Council of Judges of the Russian Federation presented USAID/Russia’s Senior Rule of Law Advisor William Patrick Murphy, Jr. with its highest award... Read More ...
Related Items: Russia, Rule of Law
 Continuing Education Advances Rule of Law in Azerbaijan
With the support of USAID and the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the American Bar Association Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA CEELI) held a Continuing Legal Education seminar... Read More ...
Related Items: Azerbaijan, Rule of Law
 Russian Judiciary Praises Decade of Cooperation with USAID
The USAID Judicial Reform and Partnerships Program held its final event on June 20, 2008 marking more than a decade of cooperation with the Russian judiciary... Read More ...
Related Items: Russia, Rule of Law
 USAID Partner Delivers First Public Lecture at Russia’s Public Chamber
On May 20, 2008, Douglas Rutzen, President of the USAID-supported International Center of Non-for-Profit Law (ICNL), delivered the first-ever public lecture at Russia’s Federal Public Chamber... Read More ...
Related Items: Russia, Rule of Law
 NGOs Team Up with Border Guard Service to Combat Trafficking
USAID/Ukraine works to build and fortify existing relationships and partnerships between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and state bodies to ensure a concerted national response to trafficking in human beings... Read More ...
Related Items: Ukraine, Rule of Law
 U.S. Judges Participate in Jury Trial Training in Vladivostok
In late April 2008, the Russian American Rule of Law Consortium (RAROLC) hosted a week-long USAID-supported seminar in Vladivostok, Russia on Jury Trial Litigation for judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys from the Primorskiy Krai Court... Read More ...
Related Items: Russia, Rule of Law
 Albania’s Corruption Challenge, Fore’s Visit Highlights Opportunities for Reform
As part of a week-long tour in the region, USAID Administrator and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance Henrietta H. Fore made a two-day stop in Tirana, Albania on May 20-21, 2008... Read More ...
Related Items: Albania, Rule of Law
 Azerbaijan Looks To Expand Consumer Protections
The USAID Trade and Investment Reform Support Program (TIRSP) and the Government of Azerbaijan jointly held the “Protection of Consumer Rights: Realities, Perspectives” Conference on March 18, 2008 in Azerbaijan... Read More ...
Related Items: Azerbaijan, Rule of Law
 New Law Boosts Procurement Transparency
The USAID Business Environment Activity and e-Government Project played a key role in the development of the new Law on Public Procurement in the Republic of Macedonia... Read More ...
Related Items: Macedonia, Rule of Law
 Armenia Takes Another Step to Support Ethical Judicial Conduct
One of the cornerstones of democracy is the establishment of an independent and impartial judiciary to promote the rule of law and protect the rights of citizens... Read More ...
Related Items: Armenia, Rule of Law
 Georgia Eases Restrictions on Foreign Documents
“Just use it!” responded an official from the Georgian Ministry of Justice when Vakhtang Zaalishvili, legal advisor to a British company, asked what to do with a document that had been notarized in Great Britain... Read More ...
Related Items: Georgia, Rule of Law
 Citizens Petition to Support Domestic Violence Victims
Today, unfortunately like so many days, lawyers at Tirana’s Center of Legal Civic Initiatives in Tirana are providing legal advice to women hoping to escape physical and emotional abuse in their lives. ... Read More ...
Related Items: Albania, Rule of Law
 Serbian Commercial Courts Awarded for Increased Transparency
Serbia’s Commissioner of Public Information recognized Serbian commercial courts as the public institution which has contributed the most to establishing national good practices in implementing Serbia’s freedom of information law... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Rule of Law
 Russian Officials Visit U.S. on Judicial Study Tour
From July 20-28, the USAID-supported Russian-American Judicial Partnership and the Open World program hosted a group of five judicial officials from the Russian Supreme Court's Judicial Department in Washington, D.C. and Portland, Maine... Read More ...
Related Items: Russia, Rule of Law
 USAID, Kyrgyz Supreme Court to Continue Collaboration on Reforms
USAID and the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic recently signed their third Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in judicial reforms to improve environment for businesses... Read More ...
Related Items: Kyrgyzstan, Rule of Law
 New Department to Continue Bulgarian Court Improvements
Seven years of USAID work toward Bulgarian court improvement became another USAID legacy on July 11 when the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) created a Department of Court Administration... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 Program Introduces Law and Democracy to Kyrgyz Islamic Schools
In the fall of 2007, the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA/ROLI) is planning to expand its USAID-funded Street Law Madrassa Program to additional Islamic schools across
Kyrgyzstan... Read More ...
Related Items: Kyrgyzstan, Rule of Law
 Street Law Program Engages Azerbaijan’s Youngest Citizens
ABA-Azerbaijan has successfully expanded its USAID-supported Street Law Program to target its youngest audience ever: third-graders. Using games, group activities, and interactive methods, law students are now teaching... Read More ...
Related Items: Azerbaijan, Rule of Law
 USAID Helps Tajik Women Regain Land
One hundred women from the Saodat Farm in northern Tajikistan recently regained possession of 19 hectares of irrigated land, thanks to USAID intervention. The land, which was restored to its owners in February 2007, had been illegally seized several years ago.... Read More ...
Related Items: Tajikistan, Rule of Law
 National Campaign Informs Kazakhstani Citizens about their Rights
In April 2007, USAID’s Kazakhstan Judicial Assistance Project launched the “Know Your Courts, Know Your Rights” national public education campaign... Read More ...
Related Items: Kazakhstan, Rule of Law
 Grassroots Democracy Blossoming in Samara Oblast
On May 31, USAID partner Povolzhye held an awards ceremony in Samara, Russia for participants who completed a ten-month training course on the enforcement of Federal Law 131 on Local Self-Government... Read More ...
Related Items: Russia, Rule of Law
 Kosovo Pilot Courts Share Best Practices
The execution of civil cases remains a challenge to the judiciary in Kosovo. Currently, one-third of all pending cases in the Municipal Courts are civil cases. Some of these have been lingering in the court system for more than two year... Read More ...
Related Items: Kosovo, Rule of Law
 Innovation Enhances Monitoring of Judgment Enforcement
USAID’s Commercial Law Reform Program (CLRP) publicly presented the newly-developed Judgment Enforcement Performance Monitoring System (JEPMS) in the city of Russe, Bulgaria on April 20... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 Survey Gives Kazakhstanis a Voice in Their Courts
In February, Court Customer Satisfaction Surveys were placed in four courts in Kazakhstan: two oblast courts and two rayon courts. The surveys are part of a pilot project implemented by the USAID Kazakhstan Judicial Assistance Project... Read More ...
Related Items: Kazakhstan, Rule of Law
 Volyn NGO instills Civic Oversight of Ukraine’s Criminal Law Process
Last year, high-school student Roman Danylchuk, 17, was accused of aggravated robbery. Allegedly, he and a friend assaulted another minor and took his cell phone in the process... Read More ...
Related Items: Ukraine, Rule of Law
 Tajikistan Passes Its First Water Users Association Law
In November, the Parliament and President of the Republic of Tajikistan signed the country’s first Water User Association Law. Previously, water user associations (WUAs) were registered under the Law on Public Associations... Read More ...
Related Items: Tajikistan, Rule of Law
 Campaign Seeks to Decriminalize Media’s Responsibility
A casual reader might have missed it, but as the news editor for START, a popular biweekly magazine, Eldin Karić is no casual reader. Early in 2005, a tiny news item about irregularities in audits of government agencies... Read More ...
Related Items: Kyrgyzstan, Rule of Law
 Lawyers Advocate for Simplified Access to Defendants
In December 2006, the Voice of Freedom National Human Rights Group invited Kyrgyzstan’s lawyers and attorneys to express their support for a draft amendment to a law that would simplify the procedure for defendants to meet with their lawyers... Read More ...
Related Items: Kyrgyzstan, Rule of Law
 Addressing Kyrgyz-Uzbek Border Crossing Challenges
In November, the public association Ferghana Valley Lawyers without Borders began implementation of the Peaceful Borders Project, funded by USAID through the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia... Read More ...
Related Items: Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Rule of Law
 Private Enforcement Agents Speak Out Against Violence
Bulgaria’s new profession of private judgment enforcement agents, established with support from the USAID Commercial Law Reform Program (CLRP) last year, broke new ground at its national conference in November... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 CLRP Seminar Initiates TV Debate on Private Enforcement Agents
On November 8, the USAID Commercial Law Reform Program (CLRP) helped organize a televised debate entitled “Private Enforcement Agents – Vicious Collectors or Knights of the Law?”... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 Idea Marketplace Strengthens NGO Participation in Corruption Fight
On September 30, Albanians thronged the Tirana International Hotel, the venue for the country’s first NGO Marketplace. In the hotel’s lobby, conference rooms and ballroom, a diverse collection of Albania’s civic groups... Read More ...
Related Items: Albania, Rule of Law
 USAID Increases Efficiency and Transparency of BiH Courts
As the 19th-century British statesman William Gladstone famously stated, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Delay undermines the purpose of courts, as the opportunity for justice is lost with the passage of time... Read More ...
Related Items: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rule of Law
 New Steps in Court Transparency in Dobrich
The Dobrich District and Regional Courts opened a new information center on October 12—a result of their active participation in the Courts in Partnership Program of USAID’s Judicial Strengthening Initiative... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 Bulgaria Boasts More Model Courts
Three more Bulgarian courts achieved Model Court status in a ceremony on 30 September in Sofia. The District Courts of Kurdjali, Veliko Tarnovo, and Vratsa joined thirteen other USAID Model Courts... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 Kazakhstan Courts Prepare For Jury Trials
Jury trials will go into force in Kazakhstan on January 1, 2007 for capital cases and USAID’s project is helping the Kazakhstani judiciary prepare for the implementation of the new law... Read More ...
Related Items: Kazakhstan, Rule of Law
 Court Watch NGO Presents Findings on Disability Access
Following a 10-month study of access for persons with disabilities in Bulgarian courts, USAID sub-grantee, Center for Independent Living, presented its findings on September 5 in Sofia... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 Vote Supports Moldova’s Private Enterprise
On July 22, 2006, the Moldovan Parliament unanimously passed new business legislation heralding a new era of open public-private relations in Moldova... Read More ...
Related Items: Moldova, Rule of Law
 USAID-funded Program Rated Second Most Popular on Kyrgyz National Television
A survey conducted by the National TV and Radio Company rated the TV program “Demilge in Action” the second most popular TV program in Kyrgyzstan in 2005... Read More ...
Related Items: Kyrgyzstan, Rule of Law
 Local NGOs Launch Projects to Support Court Transparency and Efficiency
Following an intense competition, 27 NGOs from diverse regions of Bulgaria received small grant awards in Sofia on July 27... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 Bulgaria Judicial Reform Grantees Hold Regional Exhibition
Four USAID grantees held a public exhibition on the work of courts on June 27th in Targovishte, Bulgaria. The joint effort was part of USAID Judicial Strengthening Initiative (JSI) work to support... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 USAID Caps Five Years of Court Clerk Customer Service Trainings
Completing a five-year chapter of work with Bulgaria’s court clerks, the USAID Judicial Strengthening Initiative (JSI) delivered its final customer service training on May 25 - 26 in Sofia... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 USAID Strengthens Public Dialogue on Legal Ethics
USAID’s implementing partner, ABA/CEELI, organized a third roundtable discussion on legal professional ethics in Ashgabat on May 25, 2006... Read More ...
Related Items: Turkmenistan, Rule of Law
 Exchange Program Helps Croatian Judges Transform Commercial Law
Croatian commercial courts not only handle case work in bankruptcy, copyright law, and inter-company litigation, they also review business-related documents... Read More ...
Related Items: Croatia, Rule of Law
 Training on International Religious Freedom Standards Held in Uzbekistan
From March 13-18, USAID’s Legal Education Project, implemented by ABA/CEELI, organized a series of trainings for defense lawyers and human rights activists on international religious freedom standards... Read More ...
Related Items: Uzbekistan, Rule of Law
 First Televised Public Forum on Bribery and Corruption in Legal Education
in Kazakhstan
With USAID funding, ABA/CEELI and USAID’s Participant Training Program conducted a televised forum to address the issue of bribery in law institutions in Kazakhstan... Read More ...
Related Items: Kazakhstan, Rule of Law
 Agreement between Albania and Greece Guarantees and Protects Rights of
Child Trafficking Victims
On February 27, 2006, the Greek and Albanian governments signed a long-awaited bilateral agreement that will aim to protect and assist Albanian children trafficked in and to Greece... Read More ...
Related Items: Albania, Rule of Law
 Bulgarian Regional Court Chairman Honored for Tolerance
The Mediation Center in Assenovgrad established by Partners Bulgaria Foundation and funded by USAID bestowed the prize for “Most Tolerant Person” to Mr. Daniel Lukov, Chair of the Regional Court for 8 years... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 Ukraine’s Co-Op Associations Access Free Legal, Management Advice from USAID-Supported Consulting Center
Although her life had not been easy, Marfa Trykashyna, a single retired woman, has always relied only on herself. Until she was 64 years of age, she resided in a dormitory... Read More ...
Related Items: Ukraine, Rule of Law
 Courting Progress: U.S. Assistance Helps Modernize Montenegrin
Judiciary
The Montenegrin Judicial Reform Project (MJRP), funded by USAID and implemented by Checci and Company Consulting, recently celebrated some significant milestones... Read More ...
Related Items: Montenegro, Rule of Law
 The Bulgarian Judiciary Get the Message on Corruption
The Second National Judicial Conference sponsored by USAID brought together over 700 Bulgarian judges to discuss and debate various substantive and administrative issues... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 Two Bulgarian Courts Join USAID-funded Courts in Partnership
Program
The USAID-sponsored Courts in Partnership initiative provides a framework for important work on judicial reform and rule of law are issues in Bulgaria... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 USAID Professional Media Program Renders a Winner
On October 15, 2005, Na Chisto (Clean Slate) won the Grand Award for Television at The Bulgarian Europe Festival in Russe... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 Looking to the Future, Anna Puts Her Ordeal Behind Her
Anna* comes across as a pleasant and talkative young Ukrainian woman. She willingly tells you about her family and her present job... Read More ...
Related Items: Ukraine, Rule of Law
Equal Access Law Raises Questions in Montenegro
According to the latest statistics from the Republic Employment Bureau, out of an estimated 65,000 disabled persons in Montenegro, only three have been employed in the state sector... Read More ...
Related Items: Montenegro, Rule of Law
Montenegrin NGO Wins Grant for Institute Excellence
Montenegrin Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED) won a 2005 Templeton Freedom Award Grant for Institute Excellence in recognition of its achievements... Read More ...
Related Items: Montenegro, Democracy, Rule of Law
 Cultural Cooperation in the Dayton Triangle
The Igman Initiative, a network of 140 NGOs from Serbia and Montenegro (SaM), Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), led by the Novi Sad-based Center for Regionalism... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Democracy, Rule of Law
 Veliko Tarnovo District Court and USAID Sign On for Future Collaboration
Thomas Fleetwood Mefford, the USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia, met with the Veliko Tarnovo District Court Chairman, Daniel Minov... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
American Bar Association Conducts Gender and Advocacy Training
On August 6-10, 2005, ABA/CEELI’s USAID-funded Gender Justice Program brought together 16 social advocates from across Russia... Read More ...
Related Items: Russia, Rule of Law
 Revised Law Speeds Justice for Thousands in BiH
Recently, a 68-year old retiree, residing in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Federation entity (FBiH), saw her application for pension benefits rejected by the Pension Bureau... Read More ...
Related Items: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rule of Law
 Kiev Visit a “Great Adventure and Significant Success” for Furthering U.S. – Ukraine Rule of Law Programming and Professional Exchanges
In late May, an American delegation coordinated by E&E Chief of Staff Brock Bierman set out for Ukraine with the vision of developing a judicial exchange program based on a model... Read More ...
Related Items: Ukraine, Rule of Law
 Moldovan Law Clinics Unite to Foster Clinical Legal Education and
Help the Disadvantaged
On May 12, 2005, four Moldovan legal clinics gathered in the southern Moldovan city of Comrat, where they adopted the Declaration on Creation of the Federation of Moldovan Legal Clinics... Read More ...
Related Items: Moldova, Rule of Law
Youth Debate Club Sparks Spirited Discussion on Key Challenges
Debate, negotiation, and compromise are areas of great need for any politician, but also points of weakness in inter-party dialogue and within and between parliament and government... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Rule of Law
 Bona Fide NGOs Call For Crackdown on Abuses of Montenegro’s NGO Law
Article 25 of Montenegro's NGO law enables nongovernmental organizations to conduct income generating activities in support of their financial sustainability... Read More ...
Related Items: Montenegro, Rule of Law
 Serbia Holds Its First Moot Court Competition
The Philip C. Jessup International Competition, a 45-year-old moot court tradition observed worldwide, includes the participation of more than 2,000 law students from approximately 600 law schools... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Rule of Law
 U.S. Judges Share U.S. Judicial Experience with Russian Colleagues
On April 26, 2005, U.S. Federal Judges Paul Magnuson and Steven Williams met with a working group that is addressing amendments to the Russian Federation (RF) laws on education... Read More ...
Related Items: Russia, Rule of Law
 NGOs and Law Enforcement Combat Human Trafficking in Krasnodar
In February 2005, a local NGO partner in USAID’s Trafficking Prevention and Information Dissemination program organized a training for law enforcement agencies in Krasnodar and the Republic of Adygeya... Read More ...
Related Items: Russia, Rule of Law
 Russian Judges Scheduled to Meet with U.S. Supreme Court Justices
On March 30-31, 2005 U.S. Supreme Court Justices O’Connor, Ginsburg, and Kennedy hosted a delegation of high-ranking Russian judges in Washington, DC for a briefing on the status of rule of law in Russia... Read More ...
Related Items: Russia, Rule of Law
 USAID Support Helps Special Courts Improve Administration
USAID assistance to the Special Courts for War Crimes and Organized Crime reached completion in mid-September 2004. Over the past year, USAID—through the National Center for State Courts (NCSC)... Read More ...
Related Items: Serbia, Rule of Law
 Bulgaria Celebrates New National Institute of Justice Building
Bulgaria’s Day of Awareness and Intellectual Pursuit was celebrated this year with the inauguration ceremony of the new building for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ)... Read More ...
Related Items: Bulgaria, Rule of Law
 Opening the Doors to a Transparent Judicial System
Shkoder District Court is the second largest court in Albania with approximately 20 judges and another 22 staff. It hears and decides almost 2000 cases a year... Read More ...
Related Items: Albania, Rule of Law
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