K. Fair Trials through Monitoring in Tajikistan, OSCE Centre in Dushanbe Model OSCE project programme organized by the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe and funded through the OSCE unified budget. Inception Project planning began in 2004; trial-monitoring commenced in 2005. Objectives • To obtain systematic and impartial information on advances and deficiencies in the judicial system from the perspective of Tajikistan’s compliance with existing international fair-trial treaty standards; • To raise the level of knowledge and understanding among relevant stakeholders (judges, prosecutors, executives, lawyers, the public, etc.) on the right to a fair trial and violations thereof; • To raise public awareness and improve understanding of the role of NGOs in ensuring fair trials accessible to all citizens; • To identify opportunities for technical assistance to the judiciary and NGOs in the light of the identified gaps in the justice system. Reports “Ensuring Fair Trials Through Monitoring” (2005); “Ensuring Fair Trials Through Monitoring in Tajikistan” (2006) Partners Human Rights Centre, law faculties of Dushanbe and Khujand Universities Monitoring Staff Eight local lawyers perform monitoring under contract with the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe. The lawyers are also members of local NGOs. Achievements • Increased access of monitors to court hearings that monitors were initially prevented from attending upon programme inception; • Increased compliance with procedural rights that were totally ignored prior to monitoring; • Publication of an initial report identifying specific shortcomings in Tajikistan’s system of justice; • Specific recommendations were made to national authorities to address problems observed by monitoring. Recommendations included: the need for educational programmes for judges, public prosecutors and lawyers on professional skills, international fair-trial standards, and judicial ethics; the need for a judicial appointment and oversight body; and broader public participation in the process of exercising fair-trial rights. Of Note In 2007, a total of 103 trials were monitored at courts of first instance: 41 in Dushanbe (including 229 hearings) and 62 in Sughd (including 196 hearings). The majority of cases monitored relate to theft and illegal trafficking of narcotics. The territorial scope of the programme was increased during 2007 to include monitoring at the court in Isfara. Trial-Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners 143