Judges study the role of mediation in litigation

Judges study the role of mediation in litigation

On April 21-22, in Bishkek, the Higher School of Justice under the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic hosted a training session for judges of local courts on “Fundamentals of mediation. Role in the litigation”. The training is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) as part of the Commercial Mediation in the Kyrgyz Republic (Phase 2): Response to COVID-19 Project.

Director of the Higher School of Justice Elmira Baitikova, in her welcoming speech, noted the importance of developing mediation in Kyrgyzstan.

Director of the IDLO branch Dilbar Maksimbekova noted that since 2005 the organization has been cooperating with the judiciary in key areas – comprehensive training of judges, and the introduction of digital technologies.

“Currently, together with the EBRD, we are working on a project to develop commercial mediation in the Kyrgyz Republic. Successful resolution of commercial disputes is the key to the investment attractiveness of the country,” Maksimbekova said.

It is the court, which faces a large number of disputes, that can provide clarifications on the mediation procedure and direct the parties to an information meeting with the mediator.

Trainers Galina Sheremetova, leading expert of the Center for Mediation of the Ural State Law University, mediator, associate professor of the Department of Civil Procedure of the Ural State University of Law, and Galina Shin, a judge of the Sverdlovsk District Court of Bishkek, reported that within two days the participants received information about the basics of mediation and its role in litigation.

“Judges must understand when it is necessary to send the parties to an information meeting with a mediator, how to give clarifications, and be able to document the results of mediation meetings and procedures,” Sheremetova said.

Upon completion of the training, participants received certificates.

Mediators learn how to effectively promote their services

Mediators learn how to effectively promote their services

On March 17 and 18, trainings were held for mediators on marketing services and working with the updated nationwide register of mediators on the website www.mediator.kg.

The trainings were held jointly with the Republican community of mediators with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Development Law Organization in the Kyrgyz Republic (IDLO) under the project for the development of commercial mediation in the Kyrgyz Republic.

During the first day of training, which took place both online and offline, experienced trainer Ulan Mukhamed taught the mediators key marketing techniques. The participants learned how to analyze and segment the mediator services market, position their personal brand and effectively promote their services. During the second day of the training, the participants got acquainted with the updates on the website of the Republican Community of Mediators www.mediator.kg .

A mobile version of the site has now been created, new functions allow mediators to access the Personal Account and fill out their portfolio – resumes, photos, certificates. This, in turn, facilitates the search and selection of a mediator for those who would like to resolve a dispute or conflict through mediation.

Mediator Elvira Borombayeva said that “now the site www.mediator.kg has become friendly and efficient.”

A qualitative update of the website and training of mediators became possible thanks to the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Development Law Organization in the Kyrgyz Republic (IDLO) within the framework of the project “Commercial Mediation in the Kyrgyz Republic Phase 2: Response to COVID-19”.

Kyrgyz Judiciary Embraces Civil Society Recommendations on Uniform Judicial Practices

Kyrgyz Judiciary Embraces Civil Society Recommendations on Uniform Judicial Practices

The USAID-IDLO Trusted Judiciary program in the Kyrgyz Republic is set to achieve another success in promoting uniform judicial practices. The Supreme Court’s Plenum has started adopting the recommendations of the civil society’s analysis of court decisions, which was supported by the program.

Under the program, IDLO has been supporting a civil society initiative by which a group of lawyers and academics analyzed the judicial acts on various categories of cases published on the specialized website for publication of judicial decisions. Roundtables were also organized, with the participation of the Supreme Court chairwoman and judges, as well as judges from lower instances.

The analysis was carried out over a period of five months. It covered about 753 acts (339 civil cases and 414 criminal cases). The findings showed that overall, judges generally comply with the rules of substantive and procedural law, including in the reasoning part. However, there are some discrepancies in the interpretation of the norms of substantive and procedural law, as well as some flaws in the preparation of judicial acts. The findings also showed the need for finalizing some of the decisions of the Supreme Court’s Plenum as well as for developing new decisions on certain categories of cases.

The judiciary did not only take the recommendations into consideration but started adopting them through Supreme Court’s Plenum decisions. A compelling example is that of the category of court decisions on the application of pledge legislation, where most recommendations were included in the Plenum’s decree on May 27, 2019.

Looking forward, the Supreme Court plans to develop new resolutions based on the recommendations related to extremism in criminal cases involving illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances as well as in criminal cases on certain types of property crimes.

The USAID-IDLO Trusted Judiciary program aims at increasing public trust in the judiciary as an independent branch of power that protects citizen’s rights and upholds the rule of law in the Kyrgyz Republic.

A Senior in Law That Rushes to Mock Court

A Senior in Law That Rushes to Mock Court

Tazagul Mambetalieva, a senior in law, rushes on Saturdays to the Kyrgyz National University (KNU) to attend her favorite class—the mock court. Along with 15 fellow students, she tries on different roles—a judge, lawyer, prosecutor, plaintiff, and defendant, in an auditorium set up as a courtroom.

This opportunity, provided by the USAID-IDLO Trusted Judiciary Program (IPTJ), seeks to improve Kyrgyz legal education and helps Tazagul and her classmates become better lawyers.

The mock court course allows law students to simulate what occurs in lower court trials and to learn about the legal system in a competitive manner. Tazagul believes that this course allowed her to hone her legal skills before working in the legal system.

“A perfect lawyer should be righteous, that is who I want to be,” says Tazagul. “Before judging someone, you have to ask yourself whether you are fair and objective.”

She gained this understanding during her semester enrollment with the mock court course, which, in addition to allowing students to understand the roles of various participants in trial procedures, provides them an opportunity to analyze judicial cases. The cases are drawn from the www.act.sot.kg platform, which contains about 130,000 court decisions published online and was launched with the support of the USAID-IDLO Judicial Strengthening Program six years ago.

“Today’s students will make justice tomorrow. Without a just state it is impossible to make progress,” says Alisher Madalinov, KNU professor. That is the reason for IPTJ’s active involvement in developing and scaling the mock court discipline in various higher educational institutions, including through a National Mock Court Competition, during which the best performances will be videorecorded as an educational guide.

Tazagul knows the exact reasons why she decided to enroll in this optional course.

Disciplinary Commission: How are Judges Judged?

Disciplinary Commission: How are Judges Judged?

1700 complaints against judges were received by the Disciplinary Commission for the first year of work as a separate constituent body. This was reported by the Chairperson of the Disciplinary Commission at the Council of Judges of the Kyrgyz Republic Kymbat Arkharova during an ExpertCafe meeting on January 31, 2019.

In fact, it was the first public report of the Commission on the work done.

According to Arkharova, 1060 cases out of the total number of complaints received were returned, according to 246 complaints an internal investigation was conducted.

“According to the results of the official investigation, disciplinary action was taken against 74 judges. According to 172 complaints, it was denied consideration due to the absence of the judge’s guilt and evidence, as well as the expiry of the term for bringing to disciplinary responsibility, ”Arkharova said.

The Commission made submissions on the early release from office in respect of 5 judges.

Powers of the Disciplinary Commission

According to Chinara Musabekova, Deputy Chairman of the Commission, the Disciplinary Commission cannot consider the legality of court decisions; only disciplinary offenses are considered here.

“Most citizens mistakenly believe that the Commission will review judicial decisions. No, we are considering disciplinary offenses, but if there was a systematic violation of service discipline and procedural norms, or the judge allowed interference in his work, we can introduce a notion of early dismissal from his post, as was done in respect of 5 judges. ” explained Musabekova.

Last year, on the basis of submissions, five judges were prematurely dismissed from office: Judge of the Oktyabrsky District Court Gulchekhra Omorov, Chairman of the Sverdlovsk District Court Elvira Zharkeeva, Judge of the Sverdlovsk District Court Dotolotbek Turdukozhoyev, Judge of the Moscow District Court Marles Felix and Judge of the Naryn City Court Aynagul Joschul Jougul J.

In 2018, the Disciplinary Commission agreed with the Prosecutor General on bringing four judges to criminal responsibility.

Reference:

Bringing a judge to criminal responsibility is allowed with the consent of the Disciplinary Commission at the Council of Judges on the proposal of the Prosecutor General. In order to obtain this consent, the Prosecutor General makes a submission to the Council of Judges indicating the circumstances of the criminal case, the applicable criminal law articles and requests for consent to be brought to criminal responsibility as an accused. The decision of the Disciplinary Commission on consent or disagreement on bringing a judge to criminal or administrative responsibility is not subject to appeal.

Commission member Kanat Turganbekov said that now 80% of the judges are new judges.

“It’s not that they all know the procedural code well. Consideration of disciplinary offenses by our commission and their publication on the website increases the responsibility of judges, ”Turganbekov said.

On July 28, 2017, the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On the Disciplinary Commission under the Council of Judges of the Kyrgyz Republic” was adopted. “According to the new Law, the Disciplinary Commission is a separate constituent body authorized to consider issues of disciplinary responsibility of judges.” The Disciplinary Commission consists of nine members, the structure is formed by the President, the Jogorku Kenesh and the Council of Judges of the Kyrgyz Republic, 1/3 of the commission, respectively. The Disciplinary Commission is considered eligible after forming at least 2/3 of its membership, currently, there are eight members of the Commission.

[This content was automatically translated from Russian language]

Djakupova: The Supreme Court has Matured to Assess Itself

Djakupova: The Supreme Court has Matured to Assess Itself

On November 30, there was a discussion of a study to assess the level of satisfaction of participants in court proceedings, which the judicial system launches on December 10 in the courts of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The discussion was attended by representatives of the judiciary, legal and academic fields and civil society.

The judge of the Sverdlovsk court, Inara Gilyazetdinov, introducing the questionnaire participants to the roundtable, said that the process of developing questions aimed at identifying the satisfaction index had taken into account the experience of other countries, in particular, Finland, the Netherlands, and the USA.

“This study is not aimed at assessing the level of satisfaction with the courts of all citizens, but of the participants in the judicial process,” said Judge Gilyazetdinova.

Director of the Adilet Legal Clinic Cholpon Dzhakupova noted the importance of the participation of the academic community at the preliminary stage of developing the toolkit and provided detailed comments and suggestions on the completed questionnaires.

“The questionnaire does not contain questions, the answers to which would reflect the real level of independence of the judicial system, and this is one of the most problematic issues of the judicial system. This is a problem not only for the participants in the trials but also for the judges themselves, ”said Dzhakupova.

The human rights activist also noted that the study of the level of satisfaction indicates an increase in courage on the part of the judicial system, that the Supreme Court has matured to develop tools and evaluate itself through the eyes of the participants in the judicial process.

Ainura Usupbekova, Director of PF “Civil Platform”, commenting on the study, told the participants that such a study can serve mainly as a self-diagnosis of the judicial system. As Usupbekova noted, the range of research questions includes the procedural aspects of the courts and will give an intermediate result before an extensive study on the credibility of the judicial system.

The survey to assess the level of satisfaction of participants in the trials will be held in 25 courts of the Kyrgyz Republic. Its main goal is to bring an objective picture of the level of satisfaction of participants in court proceedings with the work of the courts and to identify which aspects of their work the judicial system should improve.

The study is being conducted by the Judicial System of the Kyrgyz Republic with the support of the USAID-IDLO Trust to Court program.

 [This content was automatically translated from the Russian language]

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What Will the New Criminal Code Bring?

What Will the New Criminal Code Bring?

Two months later, new criminal legislation comes into force, the concept of which is built on the principles of humanizing justice and strict observance of the rule of law at all stages of a criminal case.

On October 30, during a meeting in the ExpertCafe format, representatives of law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, lawyers, the academic environment and the judicial system told about exactly what changes will take place on January 1, 2019, and how these changes will affect the lives of ordinary citizens.

Humanization of justice

So, in the new criminal legislation concepts such as crime and misconduct are separated. To misconduct attributed actions that do not represent a great danger or harm. Accordingly, the types of punishments will be milder, fines, correctional work, removal from office, etc., but not imprisonment.

Coordinator of the new criminal legislation of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, Head of the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, Begaly Pirmatov, said that after the new year, law enforcement agencies will create inquiry units to investigate misconduct.

“In order to optimize work in law enforcement agencies, 625 people have been reduced, 225 full-time units will be created in the inquiry units,” Pirmatov said.

Experts unanimously recognize this innovation as progressive: the deprivation of liberty for a crime of small and medium gravity has long been necessary to reconsider. According to statistics, relapse among prisoners is 40%, which means that the punitive method only worsens the overall criminality in the country.

The new Criminal Code provides for a reduction in prison terms for certain types of crimes, which, according to the logic of the authors of the law, will reduce the cost of prisons.

The balance of powers between the law bodies is changing

From the new year, all crimes and misdemeanors will necessarily be registered in the electronic database – the Unified Register of Crimes and Offenses of the EPPR.

According to Azizbek Shukurbekov, the prosecutor of the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Kyrgyz Republic, information about the start of pre-trial proceedings, procedural actions, the movement of the criminal case, etc. will be entered into the Base.

“An interdepartmental order has already been signed with all law enforcement agencies on the introduction of a single form of a statement about the crime committed and a single form of the protocol on the crime being committed or being prepared. When filling out forms, information will be immediately entered into the program. Access will be provided to the supervising prosecutor as well as to the parties to the process. For example, the applicant, having received a ticket and a code, will be able to track at what stage his application is, who is considering his case,” Shukurbekov said.

Thus, law enforcement agencies will keep records and records of crimes and misdemeanors, while the prosecutor’s office will oversee the legality and timeliness of registration. As the experts assured, the information in the EP cannot be changed or deleted.

Judicial control of the investigation

From the new year, the Institute of the investigative judge is introduced. The investigating judge ensures the legality of the procedural actions from the moment the application is received until the transfer of the case to the court. As the sector head for work with the legislation of the Supreme Court Rasiya Eralieva, said, the investigating judge has a lot of responsibility and wide powers.

It is the investigative judge who determines the legality and validity of the detention, the need for special investigative actions, such as listening to conversations, obtaining information about connections between subscribers, audio and video monitoring of a person or place, etc.

The investigating judge has the right to deposit evidence, that is, the interrogation of a witness and/or a victim at the request of one of the parties.

The deposition “preserves” the testimony before the court since after this procedure there will be no further interrogation. The main purpose of the deposit is to prevent intimidation of witnesses and victims, to avoid re-interrogation of minors, without subjecting them to additional psychological trauma.

But at the same time, the investigating judge does not have the right to investigate or decide on the guilt or innocence of the suspect in court. He should monitor compliance with the law during investigative actions.

Practice polishes theory

Now law enforcement agencies, the judicial system, the prosecutor’s office, the legal profession, in cooperation with the donor community, conduct training for their employees, implement pilot projects in order to launch them from January 1, 2019. Experts say that certain gaps in criminal law will be eliminated during practice.

“For example, in Kazakhstan, after the introduction of the new Criminal Code, 218 changes were made,” the Supreme Court judge Askat Sydykov said.

“We should not slow down the introduction of new criminal legislation for fear of possible obstacles. Obstacles must be overcome since it is no longer possible to live according to the old code, ”said one of the innovators, the dean of the law faculty of the Kyrgyz National University.

[This content was automatically translated from Russian language]