16   DEMOCRATIZATION and 26 NGOs, offering a platform for identifying challenges and exchanging good practices. Around 100 policy- and lawmakers, academics, justice professionals and civil society representatives from Central Asia and other parts of the OSCE region discussed current challenges and good practices in criminal justice reform at a forum organized by ODIHR from 16 - 18 November 2016 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. (OSCE) ODIHR’s Expert Forums on Criminal Justice for Central Asia ODIHR-organized criminal justice summer schools for Central Asia in 2006 and 2007 led to the organization, in partnership with the OSCE field operations, of the first Expert Forum on Criminal Justice for Central Asia in 2008 in Zerenda. The Expert Forum on Criminal Justice for Central Asia has emerged as a leading regional platform for professional discussion on criminal justice and judicial reform, human rights in criminal procedure, and the harmonization of national legislation with international criminal justice standards. It aims to promote the exchange of experiences and informed dialogue, with a view to policy development and reform in the area of criminal justice. The Sixth Expert Forum was organized in Uzbekistan for the first time, from 16 to 18 November in Tashkent, by ODIHR, OSCE regional field operations and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Close to 100 judges, prosecutors, lawyers, police officials, ministry of justice representatives and civil society organization representatives discussed challenges and good practices in recent criminal justice legal and judicial reform efforts in Central Asia and beyond. They also attended side events organized by ODIHR, UNDOC, Penal Reform International and the International Commission of Jurists. Participants highlighted persistent obstacles to the work and security of lawyers, as well as the issue of the reintroduction of the death penalty among de facto abolitionist countries in the region, as well as the need to strengthen the independence of judges, including at the constitutional court level. Supporting and informing criminal justice reform In 2016, ODIHR continued the research initiated in 2015 on the impact of recent criminal procedure reforms on fair-trial rights and rights of victims in six jurisdictions in SouthEastern Europe. An additional three field assessments − in Belgrade, Pristina and Skopje − were completed to collect statistics and stakeholder perceptions. New procedures introducing adversarial elements will be assessed in the report to be issued in 2017, which will present findings and recommendations for improvement in guaranteeing fair-trial rights under these new criminal procedure models. ODIHR supported criminal law and procedure reform efforts in Armenia, Kazakhstan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova and Tunisia in 2016, by reviewing and commenting on draft legislation pertaining to hate crimes, counterterrorism efforts, enforced disappearance and criminal procedural rules. Enhancing the Openness, Transparency, Inclusiveness and Efficiency of Lawmaking Processes To assist OSCE participating States in their efforts to improve their law making processes, ODIHR has developed a methodology to conduct comprehensive assessments of the legislative process and actual practice. Such assessments are followed by thematic workshops and the creation of regulatory reform roadmaps, with concrete action points for national reform.