PUBLIC AFFAIRS SECTION

Press Release

31 January 2006
Strengthening the Rule of Law

The United States is supporting the Government of Afghanistan's efforts to rebuild and reform the country's permanent justice institutions, expand the civil and criminal capabilities of the Afghan judicial system, and meet Afghans' expectations for the impartial administration of justice under the rule of law. The United States is also providing extensive direct support to the Afghan judicial sector in counter-narcotics investigations and prosecutions, and in drafting effective counter-narcotics legislation.

Institutional Development/Civil Law

• Infrastructure - The U.S. has constructed or rehabilitated 27 judicial buildings in 18 provinces; 8 more are under construction.


• Administration, Legislative Drafting - Experts are working with the Ministry of Justice staff to draft laws. A collection of Afghanistan's basic laws was published and sent to all courthouses countrywide, and a project to enter all laws into an online searchable database is underway.


• Supreme Court Reform - Experts are working to support the Supreme Court's nine justices as stipulated in the Afghan Constitution. Other support has included computerization of personnel records, improvements in personnel and court organization, rehabilitation of Court premises and technical assistance in the management of judicial training.

Criminal Law

• Justice Sector Support Program (JSSP) - The U.S. funds criminal justice advisors who provide legal counsel to senior and mid-level officials at justice institutions. Criminal justice experts train and mentor judges, prosecutors, and defense counsel in criminal procedures, cases, and trials.


• Corrections System Support Program (CSSP) - This program, starting this month, will provide training, capacity building projects and infrastructure support to the corrections system in Kabul and several provinces.


• Counter-narcotics Tribunal (CNT) and Justice Center (CNJC) - The U.S. has supported the development of an Afghan tribunal -- now open and operating, with nationwide jurisdiction for the prosecution of mid- and high-level narcotics trafficking offenses. The U.S. is also providing facilities for use by the Afghan government to prosecute narcotics offenders and will provide training, mentoring and operations and maintenance support.


• National Legal Training Center (NLTC) - A joint U.S.-Italian-Afghan initiative, the Center is being developed to provide standardized legal training and mentoring.


• Counter-Narcotics Law and Extraditions - U.S. and international experts worked with Afghan criminal lawyers to draft comprehensive counter-narcotics legislation, now enacted into law, that builds upon the former criminal law and adds a new regulatory structure for licit and illicit drugs, defines new crimes and a revised sentencing structure, authorizes the use of modern investigative techniques, and confirms the use of the 1988 U.N. Convention against Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances as an appropriate instrument for extraditions.

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