ASSISTANCE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFGHAN LEGAL ACCESS AND TRANSPARENCY (ADALAT)

OVERVIEW

ADALAT’s (“justice” in Dari and Pashto) objective is to improve citizen access to justice. ADALAT increases efficiency and integrity in the formal justice system through technical assistance and the development of more robust court systems and procedures.

At the same time, ADALAT works to create stronger linkage between the formal and informal justice sectors and greater consistency in the application of Afghan law by traditional dispute resolution actors.

Finally, ADALAT seeks to address citizen demand for quality legal services through expanded public legal education opportunities, improved legal education, and enhanced legal assistance.

ACTIVITIES

• Technical assistance to the Supreme Court to provide professional training to judges and judicial personnel, improve court administration, and ensure professional conduct among judges and judicial staff.
• Strengthen the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to provide quality legal services and increase citizen access to legal aid.
• Improve traditional justice decision making through training and consultative interventions, and protect citizens' legal rights through education and advocacy.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Improved the professionalism and effectiveness of key judicial institutions through implementation of three human and institutional capacity development assessments for the Supreme Court, the MOJ, and the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association.
• Supported 22 district and provincial advocacy networking forums to resolve cases on labor rights, human trafficking, inheritance, and violence against women.
• Educated 4,500 individuals fundamental rights of citizens, including women's rights from the perspective of Islam and Afghan Law through training and workshops.
• Implemented and improved the Afghanistan Court Administration System, a paper-based system that identifies the type of legal cases at Primary and Appellate Courts.
• Organized a Judicial Conference and drafted advisory opinions providing guidance on aspects of jurisprudence.
• Since the beginning of the activity ADALAT hosted seven regional judicial conferences utilizing the advisory opinions from the national conference as training materials.
• Implemented the Afghanistan Justice Engagement Model in 32 districts for 3,440 men and 2,880 women to improve the legality and fairness of traditional dispute resolution.
• Supported improvements for the training and evaluating process of potential judges, including a preparatory course for 256 female Sharia and Law Faculty graduates to increase their chances for passing the judicial exam.
• Created an online registration system for the Judicial Stage examination which eliminated the need for travel. By mid-March of 2019 over 11,000 people submitted an online application.