Kyrgyzstan is one of the five independent states of the former Soviet Union that make up the region of central Asia. Following its independence in 1991, Kyrgyzstan embarked on a development program to build sustainable democratic institutions and to become a regional center for commerce and investment. However, the progress made by Kyrgyzstan, in particular following the Tulip Revolution of 2005, has been undermined by continuing instability in the country’s infrastructure, which has lead to parliamentary struggles, demonstrations and widespread corruption.

These problems are reflected in the judicial system. While many of the Kyrgyz laws have been modernized, a great deal of work is required to ensure that the legislation is fully implemented. Furthermore, Kyrgyzstan lacks an effective mechanism to properly prepare new judges for their duties or to provide continued professional training to sitting judges. Perhaps most significantly, many judges lack any real sense of the role of an independent, impartial judiciary in a democratic society. IDLO is currently implementing a multi-faceted commercial law judicial capacity-building project in Kyrgyzstan, in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and in collaboration with the Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan. The project aims to enhance the competence of judges in commercial law to ensure greater efficacy, uniformity and predictability of court rulings, assist in the creation of a business enabling environment in Kyrgyzstan and help build lasting institutions capable of providing effective capacity-building programs for the judiciary.

The core activities include:

• Institutional support to strengthen the Kyrgyz Judicial Training Center
• Training Kyrgyz judges who deal with commercial and civil-commercial matters
• An apprenticeship of 24 Kyrgyz judges with the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan and commercial courts of the Russian Federation
• Developing and equipping a commercial law library in the Supreme Court
• Preparing, disseminating and translating into Kyrgyz language a benchbook relating to key pieces of the commercial law framework
• Providing IT system access to the legislative database

The project’s direct beneficiaries are approximately 270 Kyrgyz judges and a select group of bailiffs, tax officials and court consultants. Sponsors of the project are Japan, Switzerland and the EBRD Fund for Early Transition Countries.