BOUCHER MEETS WITH AFGHAN JUSTICE LEADERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 005445

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL AF
SUBJECT: BOUCHER MEETS WITH AFGHAN JUSTICE LEADERS

REF: A. A) KABUL 05400

B. B) SECSTATE 182847

Classified By: Ambassador Ronald Neumann for Reasons 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: During their November 8 meetings with
Assistant Secretary Boucher, Afghan Chief Justice
Azimi and Attorney General Sabit highlighted salary
support, added space, housing, and transportation as
the major needs to improve the quality of both their
institutions. Boucher questioned each on their
challenges, the informal justice system, and anti-
corruption efforts. Azimi said that a lack of
qualified judges and accountability was creating a
disconnect with the provinces. He hopes to combat this
by increasing communication with the provinces and
assigning Supreme Court Justices to oversee and visit
each one. The informal system still plays a major role
in resolving cases, especially civil cases, but
efforts are being made to ensure more criminal cases
are reviewed by the formal system. According to Sabit,
anti-corruption efforts are impeded by the inability
to enforce rulings and orders from the Supreme Court
and Attorney General. Boucher and the Ambassador
suggested that Sabit focus enforcement efforts on a
province with a cooperative governor and police chief,
and then build on his successes until he can do more
in the north. Overall, donor coordination with regards
to both offices will be a key to success. Post will
attempt to use the upcoming Dubai meetings to focus
international efforts on the justice sector. END
SUMMARY.

Expanding the Reach of the Supreme Court


2. (SBU) During his meeting with Assistant Secretary
for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher in
Kabul on November 8, Chief Justice Azimi said that he
is looking at the whole court system and trying to use
his human capital better. He has selected 50-60 judges
to work under him in Kabul and is looking for 34
others to lead in the provinces. These judges will be
Provincial Chief Justices and will not only be
administrative heads but also act as Azimi's voice and
ears outside the capital. He understands that he
cannot control all of the provinces by himself and is
making the selection of these judges a priority.
According to Azimi, the biggest problem in connecting
to the provinces is communication. To address this, he
has divided Afghanistan into eight zones and has
assigned each to a Supreme Court Justice for them to
monitor. He will rotate these zones approximately
every six months. He has also asked each province to
report back to their respective Justices statistics
such as the number of criminal and civil cases and the
age of each case. The provinces have begun reporting
on a monthly basis. Presently there is no
accountability but the Chief Justice hopes that if
more attention is paid to the provinces they will
become more manageable.


3. (SBU) One major roadblock is that many judges lack
proper educational credentials. Most of these were
appointed during the King's reign, and Azimi is unsure
how he will deal with removing or training them. He
presently oversees 1500 judges in 335 districts. Only
about half of these judges have the appropriate
qualifications. Additionally, to retain qualified
judges, Azimi's five-year plan hopes to dignify their
positions by providing salary supplements, vehicles,
and housing.

Informal Justice Systems


4. (C) Azimi supports the informal system and said it
plays an important role in Afghan culture, history,

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and religion. Both sides have to willingly agree to
use the informal shuras, and in many cases it is
better than a court. According to Sabit, the informal
system largely handles civil cases and most criminal
cases are brought to the formal system. This trend
needs to be reinforced to prevent unjust informally-
reached judgments such as the stoning of adulterers or
the transfer of women to settle debts.

Anti-Corruption Efforts


5. (C) Originally, Sabit said he thought that
corruption was the biggest problem he confronted, but
after traveling around the country trying to fight
corruption he feels that a lack of rule of law is a
bigger issue and feeds corruption. There is an
inability to enforce court rulings and orders issued
by his office, which limits efforts to prevent
corruption and bring corrupt officials to justice. "I
don't see how I can go on this way," he said. For
example, the Attorney General attempted to arrest the
Mayor of Mazar-e-Sharif but was unable to do so
because Governor Atta refused to enforce the arrest
warrant, demanding that prosecutors present him with
the evidence and let him decide the merits of the
case. Warlords and former commanders still have
impunity in many areas. He added that he also did not
want to call on President Karzai to demand his orders
be enforced, because if they were not it would only
serve to weaken the President's image.


6. (C) The president has cautioned Sabit to not open
too many high-profile investigations too soon, a
sentiment echoed by both Boucher and the Ambassador.
The Ambassador recommended that he focus on areas
where he can make some progress, areas with supportive
governors and police chiefs. The Ambassador also
mentioned that Sabit may be able to work with the
Germans to have them apprehend some of the people that
the Governor is protecting. He also recommended that
Sabit focus on areas that the Afghan Security Forces
are already deployed in larger numbers, such as Farah
or Ghazni. One of the most important factors will be
showing the public that Pashtuns are not exempt from
Sabit's anti-corruption campaign. At the end of this
discussion the Attorney General said that he would
likely go to Khost, where the Governor will cooperate
with him.


7. (C) Internally, the Attorney General is trying to
recruit and utilize younger officers who have not yet
been corrupted to revitalize his office. Sabit has
also created a new inspector general's office and
hopes to create an Afghan Federal Bureau of
Investigation with 100 officers to hunt for corruption
in the provinces.

Needs of the Attorney General's Office


8. (SBU) The Attorney General highlighted his major
needs as assistance in recruiting young and newly-
trained prosecutors, additional office space, cars,
and salary support. He complained there is a severe
lack of space with, in some offices, 23 prosecutors
sharing three desks. Salaries are also a major issue.
He has 458 prosecutors in Kabul, and while has told
them he will not tolerate corruption, they cannot
survive on their $60 a month salary. The Afghan
Government has already promised to fund new facilities
for the Supreme Court and the Attorney General's
Office. Government funding for salaries, however,
seems much more unlikely. Until salaries begin to
improve, Sabit requested help to improve the
prosecutors' quality of life, such as, opening a store
with subsidized food and a medical clinic to care for
employees and their families. The Chief Justice has

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made similar requests for housing, transportation, and
salary support.

Comment


9. (SBU) Coordination on rule of law issues has begun
to improve with the arrival of the new Embassy Rule of
Law Coordinator and a willingness of the international
community to work together. Boucher said that there is
a great deal of international interest right now and
that the European Commission, Germany, United Kingdom,
and Italy seem keenly interested in the justice
sector. The Embassy and INL in Washington have been
working together to bring donors together in Dubai for
a working level conference to address many of the
issue brought up by the Chief Justice and Attorney
General. In particular, the Chief Justice's five year
plan and the needs of the Attorney General's office
have been highlighted for discussion. The Embassy has
been discussing using Afghan strategies as a basis for
meeting Afghan National Development Strategy
benchmarks and hopes to expand this debate to the
international community in Dubai. END COMMENT.
NEUMANN