Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ASHGABAT1108
2009-09-01 13:11:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:
TURKMENISTAN: SOME TRANSPARENCY IN DRAFTING A NEW
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C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 001108
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, INL,
DOJ FOR OPDAT/ALEXANDRE, NEWCOMBE, LEHMAN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2019
TAGS: KJUS PREL PGOV KCRM TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: SOME TRANSPARENCY IN DRAFTING A NEW
CRIMINAL CODE
REF: A. ASHGABAT 1080
B. ASHGABAT 1083
C. ASHGABAT 1078
Classified By: DCM Sylvia Reed Curran, Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).
C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 001108
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, INL,
DOJ FOR OPDAT/ALEXANDRE, NEWCOMBE, LEHMAN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2019
TAGS: KJUS PREL PGOV KCRM TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: SOME TRANSPARENCY IN DRAFTING A NEW
CRIMINAL CODE
REF: A. ASHGABAT 1080
B. ASHGABAT 1083
C. ASHGABAT 1078
Classified By: DCM Sylvia Reed Curran, Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).
1. (SBU) The Government of Turkmenistan has been working with
the British Embassy and the German development agency
Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) for the last
year and a half to rewrite Turkmenistan's Criminal Code.
This effort is part of a range of legal reforms that the
Turkmen are implementing, aimed at bringing their laws in
line with the 2008 Constitution and international standards.
(Refs A, B, C). Although the goal of the program was to have
a draft criminal law completed by the end of August, GTZ is
still hopeful that a draft will be ready to go to the Mejlis
by the end of the year.
2. (SBU) As part of this project to draft a new Criminal
Code, a working group consisting of international experts
from Kazakhstan, Germany, and the UK, as well as Turkmen
experts, met once a month. They looked at a model Code for
CIS countries, the Codes of Kazakhstan and a few other CIS
countries, and international standards on legal systems.
When the draft is ready, the group plans to circulate it
within the government to all ministries that have a stake,
and also to publish a draft in the newspapers, in order to
solicit comments and reactions.
3. (C) To bring the year-long project to a close, GTZ and the
British Embassy, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the Turkmen National Institute for Democracy and
Human Rights, organized a conference on August 18-19 on
international standards in penitentiary systems.
International experts from UNICEF, UNDP, and ICRC, as well as
the director of the International Center for Prison Studies
at King's College, London, spoke. GTZ noted that, unlike in
the past, all of the Turkmen government invitees attended the
conference and, moreover, asked serious questions. The
officials least open to new ideas were those from the
Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and the Procuracy, who,
according to GTZ, were reluctant to shed any light on the
prison system, which they see as their domain.
4. (C) COMMENT: As with a number of the draft laws currently
being prepared, the Turkmen government appears to be taking a
relatively inclusive approach to preparation of a new
Criminal Code, involving foreign experts and circulating
drafts for comment. The Mejlis (parliament) is also working
on a draft of the Criminal Code and soliciting comments from
legal experts (Ref A). Despite the apparent openness during
the drafting process, the final version may or may not
include provisions recommended by international experts, and
will be subject to an internal review by stakeholders such as
the MVD and the Procuracy to make sure their interests are
taken into account. END COMMENT.
MILES
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, INL,
DOJ FOR OPDAT/ALEXANDRE, NEWCOMBE, LEHMAN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2019
TAGS: KJUS PREL PGOV KCRM TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: SOME TRANSPARENCY IN DRAFTING A NEW
CRIMINAL CODE
REF: A. ASHGABAT 1080
B. ASHGABAT 1083
C. ASHGABAT 1078
Classified By: DCM Sylvia Reed Curran, Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).
1. (SBU) The Government of Turkmenistan has been working with
the British Embassy and the German development agency
Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) for the last
year and a half to rewrite Turkmenistan's Criminal Code.
This effort is part of a range of legal reforms that the
Turkmen are implementing, aimed at bringing their laws in
line with the 2008 Constitution and international standards.
(Refs A, B, C). Although the goal of the program was to have
a draft criminal law completed by the end of August, GTZ is
still hopeful that a draft will be ready to go to the Mejlis
by the end of the year.
2. (SBU) As part of this project to draft a new Criminal
Code, a working group consisting of international experts
from Kazakhstan, Germany, and the UK, as well as Turkmen
experts, met once a month. They looked at a model Code for
CIS countries, the Codes of Kazakhstan and a few other CIS
countries, and international standards on legal systems.
When the draft is ready, the group plans to circulate it
within the government to all ministries that have a stake,
and also to publish a draft in the newspapers, in order to
solicit comments and reactions.
3. (C) To bring the year-long project to a close, GTZ and the
British Embassy, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the Turkmen National Institute for Democracy and
Human Rights, organized a conference on August 18-19 on
international standards in penitentiary systems.
International experts from UNICEF, UNDP, and ICRC, as well as
the director of the International Center for Prison Studies
at King's College, London, spoke. GTZ noted that, unlike in
the past, all of the Turkmen government invitees attended the
conference and, moreover, asked serious questions. The
officials least open to new ideas were those from the
Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and the Procuracy, who,
according to GTZ, were reluctant to shed any light on the
prison system, which they see as their domain.
4. (C) COMMENT: As with a number of the draft laws currently
being prepared, the Turkmen government appears to be taking a
relatively inclusive approach to preparation of a new
Criminal Code, involving foreign experts and circulating
drafts for comment. The Mejlis (parliament) is also working
on a draft of the Criminal Code and soliciting comments from
legal experts (Ref A). Despite the apparent openness during
the drafting process, the final version may or may not
include provisions recommended by international experts, and
will be subject to an internal review by stakeholders such as
the MVD and the Procuracy to make sure their interests are
taken into account. END COMMENT.
MILES