ANNUAL REPORT 2004 Democratization Rule of Law sel and procedural guarantees that allow defence ODIHR organized a conference in November with experts from other countries in the OSCE region, including Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Kazakhstan, who shared their experiences with their Belarusian colleagues about the process and advantages of the transfer of penitentiary institutions. lawyers to do their job properly. In Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Kyrgyzstan, the ODIHR engaged in defencebar (advokatura) reform efforts, sharing international standards and best practices from other OSCE states. The ODIHR has also been an advocate for structural The ODIHR has also co-operated with other international and non-governmental organizations to introduce alternatives to imprisonment and to decriminalize certain offences in order to reduce prison populations – a precondition for successful prison reform. In 2004, the Office continued working on alternative sentencing in Belarus with a series of training workshops for probation officers, featuring Russian trainers; study trips to Latvia and Poland; and a seminar on community service as an alternative sentence, with experts from Russia, Poland, Latvia, the United Kingdom, and Kazakhstan to share the experience of their countries. changes in the defence bar in countries where serious problems remain with respect to access to lawyers. If the bar is not an open institution that freely, fairly, and regularly admits new members, there will inevitably not be enough lawyers to counsel those arrested and in need of legal assistance. Azerbaijan is one such country, with fewer than 400 members of the Collegium of Advocates (the defence bar) in 2004. In Azerbaijan, the ODIHR participated in two conferences organized by the American Bar Association’s Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative and the OSCE Office in Baku on the new law on the defence bar. Although the law entered into force in the autumn of 2004, acute problems in implementation remain, and 2. Fair trials the main recommendations from the second conferThe right to a fair trial is a fundamental human right ence on implementation of the new law have not yet that encompasses a range of minimum standards, in- been acted upon. cluding the right to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tri- Complementing bar-reform activities, the Office devel- bunal. In a number of OSCE participating States, there oped programmes to enhance the capacity of individ- is a widespread lack of confidence regarding the com- ual lawyers. This included training seminars for defence pliance of the legal system with these minimum stan- lawyers in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan on issues such as dards. Fair trials are impossible without appropriate legal skills and the International Covenant on Civil and procedural safeguards and guarantees. They also re- Political Rights. In Kyrgyzstan, a total of 23 lawyers quire access to professional legal advice and represen- graduated from the six-session advanced training pro- tation. The ODIHR carries out a number of activities gram, which was conducted in co-operation with the aimed at promoting various aspects of the right to a International Commission of Jurists, the Soros Founda- fair trial, including trial-monitoring1 and assisting par- tion Kyrgyzstan, and the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. The ticipating States with the adoption and enforcement of Kyrgyz lawyers are already making use of the knowl- legislative frameworks that ensure fair trials and im- edge acquired in the seminars: the first individual com- prove access to legal services. The ODIHR also works plaints filed by programme participants from Kyrgyzs- with legal communities to enhance the capacity of tan were registered by the United Nations Human legal professionals. Rights Committee in March and August. Ensuring the right to a fair trial is dependent on the In Kazakhstan, the ODIHR is assisting in a practical way availability of competent and professional legal coun- to improve professional lawyering skills and thereby 1Please see pp. 53-54 for more information about the ODIHR’s work on trial-monitoring. 25