[legal-professionals] Afghanistan: ICJ urges government to establish stable legal structures and enforce rule of law

07 February 2003    IMMEDIATE

Today the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) released its final
report on Afghanistan's Legal System and its Compatibility with
International Human Rights Standards.  The report examines the Afghan legal
system established under and since the 1964 Constitution against the
benchmark of international human rights standards.

In its report, the ICJ urges the Government of Afghanistan to prioritise the
establishment of stable legal structures able and willing to enforce the
rule of law. It also calls upon all governments involved in the
reconstruction of the country to recognise the importance of a functioning
legal system as a pre-requisite for Afghanistan's future. Governments are
advised to honour their existing commitments both political and practical,
to assist and encourage the legal reform process.

The report highlights the dearth of available written law and legal
professionals in Afghanistan and the current confinement of state law to
Kabul and its immediate surroundings.

The report recommends significant legal reform in light of the essential
requirements of international human rights standards, judicial training and
the gradual expansion of legal structures to rural areas and other cities.
The ICJ also premises any such legal reform on the inclusion of women and
other vulnerable groups in the process. The report notes the need to take
into account the realities of existing customary practices.

The ICJ's report covers all aspects of existing law relating to the
judiciary, the Office of the Public Prosecutor, legal professionals,
substantive and procedural laws, criminal law, procedural laws, juvenile
justice and the legal status of women.

The complete report is freely available in electronic format from the ICJ
website: http://www.icj.org/

The ICJ thanks the Government of Germany for its generous financial
assistance for the production of this report.


Note: For further information please contact Louise Doswald-Beck on +41
229793809.