On April 18th, 2011, at the Hyatt hotel in Bishkek, leading figures from the Kyrgyz judiciary, international and local partners joined representatives of IDLO and the EBRD to launch the Judicial Candidate Training Program.

The Program includes five months in-classroom training following a skill-based curriculum and covering legal subjects such as constitutional and international law and judicial ethics. Following the training, candidate judges will complete a five-week apprenticeship either in court, at the prosecutor’s office, or other institutions. The training is being carried out in cooperation with the Judicial Training Center and is taking place at their premises.

All thirty-five newly admitted Judicial Candidates participated at the launch event. These 35 candidates were selected from a total of 287 applicants during a two phase entrance process comprising an online exam and an interview, thanks to their high level of legal knowledge and professionalism, in particular their decision making abilities and psychological resilience.

Speakers at the event included Feruza Djamasheva, the Acting Chairman of the Supreme Court, , Michel Nussbaumer, Chief Counsel of EBRD, and Sadyr Zhaparov, Head of the Parliamentary Committee on Judicial Reform. All those who intervened strongly reaffirmed that judicial training is an integral part of the judicial reform process in Kyrgyzstan, and that it is necessary to create a heightened awareness of the transparency and meritocracy of such a program. The widely publicized Judicial Candidate Training Program is seen as an important milestone in promoting the integrity of the judicial profession in Kyrgyzstan.

The event received extensive coverage by Kyrgyz TV and print media.

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