More than 200 senior judges, including the chief jurists of all 34 provinces, came together in Kabul in November to address problems raised by some of the country’s farthest-flung courts.

The purpose of the Conference of Chief Judges, held November 3 to 8, 2007, was to resolve legal and administrative questions submitted to the Supreme Court by Afghanistan’s provincial courts. The conference, which was sponsored by the Supreme Court and supported by the USAID-funded Afghanistan Rule of Law Project (ARoLP), also provided Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi an opportunity to establish closer contacts with his provincial judges, brief them on the activities of the Supreme Court over the past year, and inform them of his plans for reforming and improving the judiciary.

For several months prior to the conference, the Supreme Court’s study and research department collected questions and issues identified by judges from around the country. These were organized under the subject areas of civil, penal, deeds and documents, administration and procedure, and miscellaneous issues, including security and finance. Five committees of judges discussed the issues raised and, by the end of the six-day conference, the judges agreed on decisions for more than 300 questions collected by the Supreme Court.

These decisions were then sent to the Supreme Court for approval. Once approved, the decisions will be applicable to all judges in the country in an effort to help their courts run more efficiently and uniformly.

Chief Justice Azimi, in his closing remarks, said the conference was a positive step for the country’s fragmented judiciary, but that judges must still work hard to earn Afghans’ trust in the courts. “We must work, day in and day out, to try ourselves in the court of conscience.”

Judges also received ARoLP-prepared training materials on the Regulation of Judicial Conduct and were introduced to the new Afghan Court Administration System (ACAS), which will improve Afghan courts’ case-filing processes. At the end of the conference, the country’s 100 most senior jurists were invited to the presidential palace to meet with President Hamid Karzai, who congratulated the judges on their efforts.