TURKMENISTAN: LAWYERS ASSOCIATIONS EVOLVE FROM SOVIET

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000382 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM SOCI KCOR ECON TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: LAWYERS ASSOCIATIONS EVOLVE FROM SOVIET ROOTS ¶1. (U) Sensitive but Unclassified. Not for Internet distribution ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Registered by Turkmenistan's Ministry of Justice as a public organization, Lawyers Associations provide legal consultations and legal services to the public. Fees are flexible and geared towards the client's ability to pay. They operate essentially as legal clinics, without a broader mandate to develop and enforce professional standards. Since their activity is still regulated by the 1981 USSR Statute on Advokatura (the practice of law),they cannot transform into bar associations that would allow them to expand and more actively engage in the legislative reform process. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) At a March 12 meeting with the Chairperson of the Presidium of the Ashgabat Lawyers Association, Besdir Eywanova, Embassy's Political Assistant learned that Lawyers Associations are public organizations for the purpose of providing legal consultations to the public. They are registered with the Bureau of Notary and Advocacy of the Ministry of Justice. The activity of Lawyers Associations is still governed by the 1981 Statute on Advokatura of the USSR because lawyers associations were not deemed the successor to the Lawyers Association of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic. As a result, they cannot establish themselves as full-fledged bar association, but are called "Kollegiya Advokatov" (Lawyers Association). A new law on advocacy to allow Lawyers Associations to transform into bar associations is currently in the process of development. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE ¶4. (SBU) The Ashgabat Lawyers Association has 83 lawyers who work in three district legal consultation offices of Ashgabat. There are six lawyers associations in the country: one in each of the five provinces and one in Ashgabat city. A joint meeting of Presidiums of the Ashgabat and provincial Lawyers Associations elects a Chairperson for each Lawyers Association for a four- or five-year term in accordance with their respective charters. The Ashgabat Lawyers Association works on a self-financing basis. It provides legal services on a fee for service basis except for disabled persons and World War II veterans who receive legal consultations free of charge. According to Eywanova, in some cases when an elderly person turns to them for a legal consultation and they see that a person is unable to pay for the services, they provide consultation for free. PARTICIPATION IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS ¶5. (SBU) The Lawyers Association plays a role in the legislative reform process. Over the last two years, representatives of the Lawyers Association actively participated in all Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Institute for Democracy and Human Rights-organized seminars to review a law or a code (e.g, the Civil Code and the Civil Procedural Code). Representatives of Lawyers Associations have participated in delegations on trips to Uzbekistan and Germany. OPINION OF A PRACTICING LAWYER ¶6. (SBU) Sharafat Dovranova, a practicing lawyer from one of the Legal Consultation Offices of the Ashgabat Lawyers Association, said that legal matters for which visitors seek legal assistance are predominantly of civil, not criminal, character. She explained that Turkmen people are law abiding and rarely appeal court decisions for criminal cases even if they do not agree with the decision. According to Dovranova, if a client comes to her office and requests services, they negotiate how much a client can pay. After agreeing on payment, the lawyer and a client conclude an agreement, a client makes payment to the organization's cashier and receives a receipt. Fifty percent of the payment becomes Dovranova's honorarium and fifty percent goes to her organization. According to Dovranova, who has nearly 20 years of experience working as a lawyer, people tend to use the services of a lawyer who was recommended to them by someone who had used that lawyer's services before. ASHGABAT 00000382 002 OF 002 ¶7. (SBU) Dovranova said that lawyers, no matter which Lawyers Association they belong to, are free to work anywhere in Turkmenistan. For instance, if an individual from Dashoguz hires a lawyer from a legal consultation office in Ashgabat, they conclude an agreement and the lawyer starts working on his case. According to Dovranova there are a few independent lawyers in Turkmenistan. Usually, they are certified, highly experienced elderly lawyers who retired from working in state legal entities, and want to continue working in the profession. ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: The existence of a non-governmental Lawyers Association in Turkmenistan provides valuable legal consultations and legal services to the public, with fees based on ability to pay. Nonetheless, the adoption of a Law on Advocacy could enable the existing associations to transform and expand into a full-fledged bar association that would support professional standards and get more actively involved in the legislative reform process in the country. END COMMENT. MILES