Support to the Kyrgyzstani Legal Defense Community (AID-176-A-12-0001)

Agency for International Development (USAID). The program aimed to support the development and growth of a unified bar association and enhance the qualifications of attorneys to serve the needs of the public. The primary objectives of the program were to improve access to an impartial justice system, build public confidence in the legal system, and promote stability in the Kyrgyz Republic. In January 2016, ABA ROLI supported the Extraordinary Congress of Advocates, which took place on March 3, 2016. The congress aimed to complete objectives that had not been accomplished during the First Congress of Advocates in November 2014 and discuss the progress that the Advocatura had made to date. ABA ROLI convened meetings of the nine regional advocaturas to discuss the issues to be included on the agenda with the advocate community and elect the delegates who would travel to the Extraordinary Congress and vote on behalf of their regional members. ABA ROLI continued to support trainings for practicing advocates through the Advocates Training Center (ATC) and practical skills opportunities for students through seven legal clinics and the Legal Clinics Association (LCA). The program supported the ATC in offering training on "Actual land law issues in the Kyrgyz Republic" for 52 defense lawyers from the regional advocaturas of Osh and Jalal-Abad regions. ABA ROLI also supported the Client Counseling Competition among the legal clinics of the Kyrgyz Republic. The programmatic developments for the period of January 1, 2016, through March 31, 2016, included ABA ROLI's cooperation with the ATC to train 52 defense advocates in the Osh and Jalal-Abad regions on land law. ABA ROLI also provided an opportunity for the members of the Bishkek and Chui regional advocaturas to discuss the upcoming Extraordinary Congress and elect their members to travel to the Congress as voting delegates. ABA ROLI supported the Extraordinary Congress of Advocates of the Kyrgyz Republic, where more than 200 advocates discussed substantial issues of the Advocatura, including approval of the ATC's charter and the membership dues structure. The program addressed the inequality of arms within the justice system in the Kyrgyz Republic by strengthening the advocate community's ability to unify under one institution – the Advocatura. The Advocatura, governed by a national body with regional subsidiaries, supports locally organized and sustainable trainings for defense advocates, thereby increasing citizens' access to skilled and empowered counsel that can effectively defend their rights. The national and regional advocaturas are in a position to address many of the structural challenges that currently limit the defense advocate community. ABA ROLI provided financial support to the Advocatura to cover initial operating costs and organized training for the Advocaturas' leadership on strategic planning, financial management, administration, capacity-building, institutional development, and public outreach. The Advocatura approved a dues structure for the national and regional advocaturas at the Extraordinary Congress of Advocates in March 2016, establishing the entry fee to the Advocatura for first-time members, monthly fees for advocates, and the percentage of the monthly fees that will be allocated towards the national and regional advocaturas. This was an important step for the Advocatura to take towards financial sustainability.