Tetra Tech DPK (Tt DPK) is the implementer of the USAID-funded Iraq Access to Justice Program, the USAID-funded Afghanistan Rule of Law Stabilization – Formal Project, and the US State Department-funded Justice Sector Assistance Project (JSAP III) in the West Bank. A key objective of Tt DPK’s work in these projects is improving the legal education of Afghan and Iraqi law students to meet international standards. In furtherance of this objective, Tt DPK supported teams from all three regions in their quest to reach the final round of the Jessup International Moot Court Competition held from March 25–31 in Washington, DC. The competition, now in its 53rd year, is a simulation of a fictional dispute before the International Court of Justice, a judicial organ of the United Nations. Participating law school teams prepare oral and written pleadings that argue both the appellant and respondent positions of the case. “This is a most important extra-curricular activity for law students. It is a serious competition as law students from [500 law schools from 80 countries] around the world compete in Jessup and the competition attracts the finest students in the world,” said Charles Caruso, Chief of Team for JSAP III who participated in the selection, training, and judging of the Palestinian contestants.

After intense preparation and work with Tt DPK’s technical staff to help build the students’ advocacy and analytical skills, the teams participated in competitions against other teams within their respective countries. The winning teams, who were selected to participate in the Jessup competition, showed impressive results. The all-female Baghdad University Law School team competed in the preliminary rounds against teams from King’s College-London and Peking University-China. Although they did not advance to the finals, they demonstrated a solid understanding of the legal issues and were noted for their ability to defend their arguments competently. The Afghan team won two rounds of the competition against universities from Belgium and Sri Lanka, the first such successes ever for an Afghan team. Although they also did not advance to the round of 32, their results were seen as a stunning success in Afghanistan, where the obstacles facing young Afghans wishing to pursue a quality legal education are well understood. The Palestinian team, which hailed from Birzeit University Law School and whose participation was funded directly by the US State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL), competed in four initial rounds against teams from Indonesia, Malaysia, Slovenia, and Columbia Law School of the United States. They were also the proud winner of the 'Spirit of the Jessup Award,' which is given to the team that, by vote of all the Jessup participants, “best exemplifies the Jessup spirit of comradeship, academic excellence, competitiveness, and appreciation of fellow competitors.”

During their stay in Washington DC, the Afghan, Iraq, and Palestinian students had the opportunity to visit and learn about a variety of important US institutions, including the Supreme Court, the Federal Claims Court, and the Library of Congress. The Iraq team also attended a program at George Washington University Law School on how to incorporate practical skills education into the law school curriculum, a valuable tool that they can take back to their universities. At the end of their stay in the United States, the three delegations met for a working dinner to exchange ideas and experiences from their respective legal and educational environments.

Tt DPK is pleased to have had the opportunity to motivate and guide these young people, who have gained valuable legal skills and who have forged friendships and connections with US-based and other law school teams from around the world. These young people are the future of the legal profession and will bring their appreciation of balanced arguments and persuasive advocacy back to their home countries. The Tt DPK project in the West Bank also intends to engage at least Jessup competitor as a legal intern, to continue building on this once-in-a-lifetime educational experience.

Gender equality is a cross-cutting theme that is important to Tt DPK and its clients. In commemoration of International Women’s Day on March 8, Tt DPK would like to highlight a few of our projects which have raised the status of women or worked toward ensuring that women are aware of their legal rights and how to exercise them. Through carefully designed programs that promote human rights and access to justice, outdated attitudes and perceptions that in the past have hindered the development of a more open and just society are now slowly changing.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

In all of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), less than five percent of the members of the judiciary are women. Of 216 heads of courts and prosecutors’ offices, only 5 are women (2 percent). The continued lack of representation of women is self-reinforcing, and drives many women away from attempting to work in these areas. For these reasons, our USAID-funded ProJustice project has worked to increase the numbers of women in the magistracy. The project awarded a subgrantee, League for the Rights of Congolese Women, a grant to support the integration of women into the legal profession, both as judges and as lawyers. With the support of ProJustice, the grantee organized a series of workshops and forums for female magistrates, lawyers, clerks, and paralegals. One such forum in November 2011 in Kinshasa brought together representatives of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights (MOJHR), the Association of Women Magistrates of Congo (AFEMAC), the League for the Rights of Congolese Women, the Association of Women Lawyers, and local civil society organizations working in the justice sector. “We need to put ourselves in competition with men [for these positions],” said Josephine Batunda, a member of AFEMAC. “We can’t sit and wait for power to come to us like a gift.” The workshops ultimately produced a guide which ProJustice presented to the MOJHR and which outlines concrete strategies for improving the representation of women throughout the Congolese legal profession.

Other ProJustice grantees are providing counseling, guidance, and assistance to vulnerable populations, including women in regions where sexual violence is ongoing. ProJustice supports organizations in each of the four pilot provinces (Bandundu, Katanga, Maniema, and South Kivu) which are providing legal assistance and conducting awareness-raising sessions on women’s rights and how to access justice. Many victims of sexual violence are either afraid to come forward or lack the knowledge of how to pursue a legal case. The organizations supported by the project bridge this gap and provide the necessary support. Project grantees have provided more than 200 women with legal assistance to date.

HAITI

The incidence of pretrial detention in Haiti is high, with many prisoners spending months or as many as five years in prison before even seeing a judge or being convicted. Due to an absence of coordinated communications systems between the various justice sector actors, others remain in prison even after their release is ordered. Tt DPK’s PROJUSTICE project is working to reduce the numbers of detainees, both by interviewing prisoners whose files were lost in the 2010 earthquake and then meeting with the judicial authorities to move their cases to disposition, and by instituting case management systems to improve coordination. Over the past year, PROJUSTICE has been focusing efforts on detainees at the Pétion-Ville Women’s Prison (PWP), the only women’s prison in Port-au-Prince (PAP). Through the efforts of its pretrial detention team, PROJUSTICE assisted in moving the cases of 183 women toward final adjudication, resulting in the release of over 60 women who had been held illegally and a 20 percent reduction in the number of pretrial detainees at the PWP overall.

For a window onto the work of PROJUSTICE, we provide two examples of women helped by the project. Ms. Juliana Fanfan was arrested on February 9, 2007 for alleged illegal arms possession, car theft, and kidnapping. A week later, she was brought to the PAP Prosecutor’s Office. Although she did not appear before a magistrate (as required by Haitian law), authorities transferred her to the PWP. On April 9, 2007, Ms. Fanfan appeared before the prosecutor and her case was forwarded to the investigating judge. The case was stalled from 2007 to November 4, 2010, when PROJUSTICE reviewed Ms. Fanfan’s file and interviewed her. The PROJUSTICE legal team met repeatedly with judicial authorities and provided the necessary paperwork to haven Fanfan’s hearing expedited. After being in prolonged detention for 4 years and 9 months, on November 9, 2011 the criminal court found Ms. Fanfan not guilty and released her.

Ms. Roselaure Désire was arrested on May 13, 2009 for alleged murder. PROJUSTICE interviewed Ms. Désire in July 2011. After reviewing her file, PROJUSTICE discovered that the investigating judge had concluded in August 2009 that she was not guilty, yet she remained in prison due to a lack of follow-up on the part of the judicial authorities. On November 9, 2011, PROJUSTICE met with the judge’s clerk, who confirmed that Ms. Désire was found not guilty. The clerk sent a release order to the Prosecutor’s Office, which forwarded the order to the PWP, and she was finally released on Thursday December 29, 2011.

JORDAN

On International Women’s Day of this year (March 8), the Jordanian Judicial Council and USAID, through Tt DPK’s Rule of Law Program (ROLP), organized an event to celebrate the important role of women in the justice system. The event honored the 107 female judges currently working in the judiciary - women who have demonstrated outstanding achievements and assumed leadership positions both inside and outside of Jordan. The ceremony was held under the patronage of the Chief Justice and attended by members of the judiciary, including judges, prosecutors, Judicial Council members, leaders in judicial education, court administrators, ROLP staff, and USAID officers, including Mission Director Beth Paige. In her address, Ms. Paige stated that “USAID will continue to support women’s participation and gender equality, as the US recognizes the role of women in achieving sustainable political reform, durable and broad-based economic growth, and the protection of human rights.” She also announced that the US Government will be launching an English language skills training program for female judges. Retired Judge Taghrid Hikmat, the first woman appointed to the judiciary in Jordan in 1996, reminisced about her pioneering years and the changes in the judicial system since she was a young lawyer. She said that in the early 1980s, when she was a lawyer, women were still fighting for their rights. In 1996, there were only 32 female judges. Since then, the number has more than tripled to 107 out of a total of approximately 900 judges. This proportion is expected to continue its upward trend, given the increasing numbers of women enrolled in legal studies. The Judicial Institute of Jordan reported less than 10 percent of female students in the class of 2006–2007, while in the class of 2011–2012, 51 percent of the class studying to become judges are female.

LIBERIA

In Tt DPK’s Mitigating Land Disputes in Liberia Program (MLDL), funded by the US Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, women and women’s groups are key partners in achieving program goals. The program is identifying and working closely with groups of women leaders in Lofa and Nimba Counties to build the capacity of women’s groups to identify potential security concerns that can disrupt peace and stability before they escalate into violence; to empower the women to help resolve disputes over land using community ties and conflict mediation skills; and to help women’s groups recognize when they should refer particular disputes to other forums for resolution. The Tt DPK program also seeks to expand awareness of women’s rights, especially land rights. Despite women’s key contributions to the agricultural sector, they face additional constraints in land ownership and secure tenure as compared to men. Improved awareness about their rights is expected to increase the percentage of women who bring forward land and other disputes for resolution. The Tt DPK program will also highlight the presence of women in the police service and in community policing through training designed to enhance police responsiveness to community security concerns. In this respect, the sight of uniformed women in positions of authority can encourage more women to join law enforcement and the impact of having women serve as community watch members ultimately can reduce the level of violence against all women.

Nimba County is a model for women’s leadership in that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has appointed a woman, Christina Dagadu, as County Superintendent, and another woman, Shirley Brown, as the District Commissioner for the district which includes Ganta, the town where MLDL is based. Both women are keenly interested in advancing the goals of this recently launched project and have already demonstrated important support. Lofa County, the other county in which MLDL is operating, is also a model for women’s leadership. For example, a woman, Moriyamu Fofana, is the county’s representative in Liberia’s national legislature for the district which covers Voinjama, where MLDL’s satellite office is located; Youngor Sherman, a woman, is the Mayor of Voinjama; and two women, Wannie Korholo and Matorma Sayon, serve as town chiefs in two other districts. The National Gender Policy of Liberia establishes gender focal points within all government ministries and agencies as a means to achieving gender equality in Liberia. The Tt DPK program will work with gender focal points at the county and district levels in Nimba and Lofa to ensure their involvement in successfully implementing the program.

Tetra Tech DPK supports the rule of law in Afghanistan through implementation of the USAID-funded Rule of Law Sector – Formal (RLS-F) project. One way in which Tt DPK furthers the rule of law in Afghanistan is by raising the legal awareness of citizens through its public outreach activities. Through carefully designed programs that promote human rights and access to justice, outdated attitudes and perceptions that in the past have hindered the development of a more open and just society are now slowing changing.

One such example is Ms. Bibi Hakmeena. Ms. Hakmeena attended several of the many USAID-sponsored town hall meetings in the province of Khost that were organized by Tt DPK together with its local partner, the Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan. At these forums Ms. Hakmeena learned the tools necessary to assume a leadership role in her community. She has now developed into a champion of the rule of law in Khost and a tireless advocate in trying to break down feelings of mistrust among locals toward the legal system.

Ms. Hakmeena believes that the forums improved her skills both as a leader and problem solver as well as elevated her overall credibility in the community. In fact, her village recently elected her to the provincial council to help solve the many difficult disputes that have plagued the area for some time.

She is also currently taking part of efforts to secure the release of a prisoner who has served his full sentence, while demanding the rights of another prisoner to confront his witnesses at a trial. It is with individuals like Ms. Hakmeena that the future of Afghanistan depends, and Tt DPK is committed to partnering with Afghan NGO’s to ensure that more citizens like her have the opportunity to assume a leadership role in their communities.

For more information, please visit the USAID site here.

Tetra Tech DPK’s (Tt DPK) support of legal rights in Afghanistan through implementation of the Afghanistan Rule of Law Sector-Formal (RLS-F) demonstrates the tangible impact its programs can make in changing lives and contributing to the building of an Afghanistan that respects the rights of all citizens. In January 2012, the RLS-F Legal Education Component facilitated the USAID-funded Afghan National Round of the Jessup International Moot Court Competition held in Kabul. Students from Herat, Balkh, Al Biruni, and Nangarhar universities were chosen to represent their schools and country for a chance to compete at the 2012 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition which will be held in Washington D.C. in March. The competition allowed the law students to debate on topics relevant to the cultural and political landscape shaping the country, such as the legality of the destruction of a cultural site, who may represent a nation after a coup d’etat, and government responsibility for military action.

Of the competition, U.S. Ambassador Hans G. Klemm, the Coordinating Director for Rule of Law and Law Enforcement stated the following” “All of the competitors today are winners, for all of you have used this intensive competition to hone your skills in legal writing, analysis and public speaking, which will serve you and your country well as Afghanistan’s future jurists.” Tt DPK is eager to follow the participants as they make their way to Washington D.C. for the chance to proudly represent Afghanistan in the 53rd Annual international event.

For more information, please visit the USAID site here.

Tetra Tech DPK (Tt DPK) supports the rule of law in Afghanistan through implementation of the USAID-funded Rule of Law Sector – Formal (RLS-F) project. One of the major thrusts of this Tt DPK development program is promoting human rights and access to justice through its grants programs. By encouraging public awareness and conducting outreach to the Afghan citizenry, RLS-F directed grants continue to make a difference in changing outdated attitudes and perceptions that in the past have hindered the development of a more open and just society.

In furtherance of this goal and in honor of International Human Rights Day, high-ranking U.S and Afghan government representatives, together with experts from the RLS-F project, held a celebration event featuring roundtable discussions on “Human Rights and Justice in Afghanistan in 2011.” The Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan (WADAN) organized the event through a grant provided by the RLS-F project and special guest participants included Bibi Hakmeena, a Provincial Council member from Khost Province, who brought a unique perspective on human rights and justice from a rural Afghan and female point of view. The event also featured an awareness-raising celebration for young school children focusing on civic education, rule of law, and justice for the next generation of Afghanistan’s leaders. The activities focused on the process of developing and instilling respect for human rights at an early age, and building a more responsible and informed future populace.

Tt DPK is committed to partnering with Afghan NGO’s such as the WADAN organization through its grants programs operated by RLS-F. By supporting indigenous organizations such as WADAN, RLS-F is leading the effort to improve the accessibility, reliability, and fairness of Afghanistan's formal justice system.

More information the event can be found on the USAID website here.  

On October 24th, 2011, Tt DPK's Project Against Violence and Impunity (PAVI) project team in Guatemala met with General Prosecutor, Ms. Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey, to officially present the Geographical Information System (GIS) that will be installed in the Analysis Unit of the Public Ministry in the capital city's Prosecutor's Office. During the event, the PAVI team explained to Ms. Paz y Paz and her advisors how the system operates, its technical capacities, and its various applications that can be used to fight crime in Guatemala.

Among other uses, the GIS will enable the Analysis Unit to locate criminal acts through the geo-coding of addresses and will show the location and concentration of the criminal activities. The system will also help identify crime patterns and provide experts of the Unit with statistics for each department. In addition, the GIS will go beyond the mere analysis of data and will evolve into more complex uses such as the efficient distribution of cases, the ability to indicate better locations of future prosecutor’s offices, and helping to increase police presence in areas where organized crime is growing, to mention a few.

According to the US Department of State (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2045.htm#profile), the Government of Guatemala is currently facing serious challenges from organized crime and drug cartels. The Government sometimes has little or no existing capacity to fight criminal organizations, which have better resources and more capital than public institutions. Despite the best efforts of national institutions and officials, there has been a rampant increase of violence in recent years.

Therefore, it not surprising that the members of PAVI who were present during the meeting reported that the General Prosecutor exclaimed, “This is what we were dreaming of but never knew how to attain it. Now the doors are open....” During the meeting, Ms. Paz y Paz along with other Public Ministry officials expressed how pleased they are with the work the Project has done to support their work and their deep gratitude for having an advanced tool such as GIS that will support their efforts to prosecute crime efficiently.

On October 11th 2011, Tt DPK held its 1st Annual Wellness Fair for the home office staff in San Francisco. The fair was an opportunity for the entire staff to take the time to explore the healthy opportunities that are available for improving their personal well-being. The Tt DPK Human Resources Department brought in an array of benefits providers and wellness vendors to speak and hold demonstrations with the staff. Representatives from Crunch Gym, Kaiser Permanente, and Breakpoint Massage were present to share information and pass out valuable health-oriented materials.

Also through a coordinated effort with Walgreens, health professionals administered free flu shots to 14 brave staff members. A representative from Crunch Gym explained the benefits of joining a health facility and Breakpoint Massage offered free sample massages to exhibit their services. Each employee received gift bags filled with assorted health brochures and pamphlets from the Tt DPK benefits providers and the wellness fair sponsors, as well as gift certificates from Aveda Salons and an eye glass repair kit from Vision Service Providers. There were also exciting raffle prizes that promoted healthy living in the office.

 After ending the fair with a health spread of organic vegetables and sandwiches, the Tt DPK staff was glad to have been offered an opportunity to evaluate new approaches to infuse health and wellness into their everyday lives, which has already been taken to heart…Paul Schmidt, Finance Associate, signed up to Crunch Gym shortly after the fair and has been spotted there working out regularly. We wish him and all the other Tt DPKers the best on the road to wellness and continued good health!

On October 14th 2011, Tetra Tech DPK Senior Program Officer Sergio Zegarra and International Recruitment Associate Emily Goldberg attended the 3^rd annual Devex Career Fair in London to promote Tt DPK’s work and recruit potential candidates. While at the career fair, Tt DPK met with numerous qualified consultants whom we look forward to engaging in the future. Additionally, Tt DPK met with a number of European organizations working on EuropeAid, DFID, and European Union funded programs. Important relationships were established with major and small European contractors that will pave our way to compete for European aid funds. We are excited about these new relationships and look forward to continuing our successful work.

Access to Justice has been working with the Iraqi Bar Association (IBA) on two new requirements for all lawyers: pro bono legal representation for at least two cases involving vulnerable Iraqis per year, and continuing education courses in human rights awareness. The recommendations were well received by the Iraqi Bar Association board and prompted an immediate request for Access to Justice Program support for a legal conference on proposed amendments to the Law on Lawyers, which regulates Iraq’s 50,000 licensed legal professionals under IBA’s guidance and supervision.

Approximately 350 legal professionals representing 15 governorates of Iraq attended the conference at the IBA headquarters in Baghdad on September 29, 2011. One of the recommendations of the conference was to include obligatory pro bono work and continuing education in human rights in the amendments to Law on Lawyers, assuring the legal community’s strong support for assistance to the vulnerable. “This article [on pro-bono obligations] is the single most important article of the (new draft) law,” said Jassim Ramadan, head of the Lawyers Rights Defense Committee in Iraq from Mosul. “Our profession is humanitarian in nature and providing free legal service for the needy is an honorable thing to do,” he proclaimed.

The Iraq Access to Justice Program will be providing further technical assistance in advocating for the formal adoption of the law by parliament with the backing of the Iraqi legal community and facilitating the smooth introduction of the new obligations in the regulatory framework.

(Photo by: Husam Aldin Hasan. IBA Chairman Mohammad Al-Faisal addressing Iraqi legal professionals in the legal conference to discuss draft Law of Lawyers.)

??In September 2011, at the close-out ceremony for the Georgia Judicial Administration and Management Reform (JAMR) Project, the Tetra Tech DPK Leadership Award was presented to Kakha Tsikarishvili, Deputy Chief of Party for the entirety of the 4-year project. Kakha distinguished himself as a highly committed, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic project leader, who earned the trust and respect of the members of the judiciary at all levels.

Kakha has developed a strong expertise in judicial branch management which benefitted both the project and the judicial reform process in Georgia. In addition to successfully carrying out his senior management functions on the project, Kakha performed extensive day-to-day technical work. He advised judicial leadership on high level policy matters; delivered case and court management trainings for judges, court staff and attorneys; organized international conferences on topics such as judicial quality management; facilitated study tours; drafted case management textbooks and court regulations; led efforts to automate the court’s workflow; organized and facilitated bench-bar committee meetings; and oversaw a large internship program.

The JAMR project had a major impact on judicial reform in Georgia. With the project’s support, a management and customer service culture developed in the judiciary. With the adoption of modern case management principles, the pace of litigation has accelerated significantly in the Georgian courts. Over the project life, average pending judge caseloads were reduced from 450 to 60 per judge and case processing times were reduced to 90 days on average. Case clearance rates (dispositions to filings) have averaged 1.05 over the past 2 years and case backlog has been eliminated in most courts.