[legal-professionals] Foundation of regional bar association in Tajikistan

DUSHANBE, 24 February 2003 - The Head of the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe, 
Ambassador Marc Gilbert, welcomed the foundation of the new Regional 
Association of Barristers of the northern Sughd Province of Tajikistan.

Around 70 of the 120 barristers registered in the province convened on 22 
February and decided to create the association.

"It is a significant measure to separate and reinforce the judiciary in 
Tajikistan," said Ambassador Gilbert at the opening of a conference 
dedicated to the foundation of the regional association.

Several barristers who attended the meeting noted that this would be the 
first step towards the creation of a National Association of Barristers of 
Tajikistan. This has been an initiative of the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe as 
part of its efforts to strengthen the judiciary and the civil society.

Ambassador Gilbert said that the establishment of an association of 
barristers of Tajikistan "is an important step to reinforcing civil society 
in the country. It will also have a positive effect on the economy, as the 
existence of a coherent and powerful bar in Tajikistan will help to attract 
investors to the country."

The foundation of the Regional Association of Barristers is in compliance 
with the 1991 Moscow document of the Moscow Meeting of the Conference on 
the Human Dimension of the CSCE (1991) which says that the participating 
States will "recognize the important function national and international 
associations of judges and lawyers can perform in strengthening respect for 
the independence of their members and in providing education and training 
on the role of the judiciary and the legal profession in society."

Local authorities, the Open Society Institute, the American Bar Association 
and non-governmental organizations involved in the defence of human rights 
were represented at the conference, which was organized by the OSCE Field 
Office in Khujand and the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe.

Latest news from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe 
(OSCE) - http://www.osce.org