ABA President Helps Re-Start ROLI Program in Uzbekistan


Bob Carlson (left), ABA President, with Ruslanbek Davletov (right), Uzbekistan's Minister of Justice.

Bob Carlson, President of the American Bar Association (ABA), traveled to Tashkent, Uzbekistan in October to renew relations between the ABA and the Government of Uzbekistan and support programs implemented by the ABA’s Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI). In June 2018, ABA ROLI started a new program in Uzbekistan; this it the first program with an in-country presence since ABA ROLI offices closed in 2006.

After the new President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, was elected in 2016, communications between ABA ROLI and the government, particularly the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), improved significantly. The new program will support the national bar association--the Chamber of Advocates-- in its independent efforts to protect individuals’ rights and due process, as well as advance legal education reform efforts at the national law school, the Tashkent State University of Law (TSUL). Mr. Carlson’s dual purpose trip aimed to: establish a positive working relationships with in-country partners, and identify potential areas of cooperation as the Uzbekistan government facilitates justice sector reforms. This trip comes after a U.S. meeting Mr. Carlson had with the Uzbekistan Minister of Justice, Ruslanbek Davletov, back in May of 2018, when Carlson was ABA’s president-elect.

During his trip, Mr. Carlson participated in a myriad of meetings with high-level officials, such as: the Minister of Justice; the Chairman of the Supreme Court, a Deputy General Prosecutor and the head of the Training Academy under the General Prosecutor’s Office; the heads of the research institutes under the High Judicial Council and the Parliament; the Dean of the TSUL; the Chairman of the Chamber of Advocates. Additionally, he spoke to 100 law students and professors from TSUL about the role of the ABA and the importance of a legal education. Mr. Carlson also served as a panelist for an international conference on the democratization of legislation and law enforcement practice, where he discussed modern challenges to the American criminal justice system. Mr. Carlson’s visit to Uzbekistan represents a significant opportunity for the ABA to foster even greater cooperation between ABA ROLI and rule of law actors in Uzbekistan.

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