Paper long abstract:

Fair-trial rights are considered fundamental and core human rights. The Kyrgyz Republic, as a member state to a number of international treaties in the field of human rights, has undertaken the responsibility of being bound by these treaties, including the responsibility to guarantee fair-trial rights to its citizens and residents. This paper presents findings of a country assessment of the legal framework and mechanisms of the Kyrgyz Republic focusing specifically on the implementation of international fair-trial standards in the context of pretrial and trial phase of criminal proceedings. The research project attempts to analyze and answer two core questions: 1) to what extent do international fair-trial rights exist in the Kyrgyz Republic; and 2) to what extent are there any deficiencies in the implementation of these rights in the criminal law procedural process attributable to weaknesses in the legal framework and justice institutions. The project aims at bridging the gap between formal law and actual legal practice by combining the analysis of current Kyrgyz legislation on fair-trial rights with a comprehensive survey of and interviews with judges, prosecutors, attorneys, NGO representatives, academia and law enforcement bodies directly involved in or familiar with the Kyrgyz criminal justice process. The approach of the project was a combination of analysis of the Kyrgyz legislation and international standards along with the conducting of comprehensive survey and interviews with practicing judges, prosecutors, attorneys, civil society representatives, academia and law enforcement bodies. Project involved the detailed analysis of the ICCPR, the 2010 Constitution, criminal procedural code, the Law on Prosecution Bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Law on the Order and Conditions of Detention of Persons Detained on Suspicion of Charges and Committing Crimes the Law on the Committee of National Security, the Law on the Status of Judges, the Law on the Constitutional Chamber of the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Law on the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic and local courts. It also involved several months of court monitoring under the auspices of the AUCA Law Clinic, the Office of the Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic, and the UNDP Rule of Law initiative.