The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) released its 2014 Legal Profession Reform Index (LPRI) for the Kyrgyz Republic Volume II during an event today at the Ak-Keme Hotel in Bishkek. The Kyrgyzstan LPRI, based on an innovative tool created by ABA ROLI, assesses the development of the legal profession in emerging democratic and transitioning states, based on international standards for an independent, ethical, and effective legal profession. The LPRI is published by ABA ROLI, with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and is distributed free of charge.
Beginning with country background, including its historical and legal context and conditions of the defense advocate legal profession in Kyrgyzstan, the LPRI provides benchmarks in such critical areas as qualifications; professional freedoms and guarantees; legal services; conditions and standards of practice; professional associations; and interaction with representatives of other areas of the justice sector, including law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges.
The results of the LPRI assessment inquiry are collected and presented in a standardized format that provides an in-depth discussion and analysis of the legal, institutional, and other issues that relate to each of the twenty-four LPRI factors.
The LPRI is not a commentary or opinion of ABA ROLI; rather, the conclusions drawn in the LPRI are based upon a comprehensive review of legislation and secondary materials and extensive interviews with advocates, prosecutors, judges, government officials and other relevant professionals within the country on the overall status of the defense advocate community in Kyrgyzstan.
The data collected in the LPRI assessment process will enable international organizations, development agencies, technical legal assistance providers, and local reformers to better understand important elements of the process of legal profession reform and target their justice assistance programming accordingly. The LPRI provides a foundation for strategic planning as well as monitoring legal profession reform over time and identifying solutions to the challenges facing the profession.
The LPRI for the Kyrgyz Republic Volume II is available free of charge in English, Kyrgyz and Russian at www.abarol.org or directly from the ABA ROLI office in Bishkek at +996 (312) 31-41-41/89/96.
ABA ROLI is an international development program that promotes the rule of law and works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding of the importance of the rule of law in more than 50 countries around the world.
This program is one of many assistance projects supported by the American people through USAID. For more information about USAID programs, please visit: http://www.usaid.gov/kyrgyz-republic
