Selection of judges in the Kyrgyz Republic and international standards on judicial independence: Final Report, 30 March 2012

Upon request of the newly established Council for the Selection of Judges (CSJ) of the Kyrgyz Republic, a number of organizations and donors hosted a training seminar for the members of the Council on 3-4 November 2011. The seminar was co-organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, the EU-funded EU-UNDP Kyrgyz Republic Legal Framework Support Project, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Soros Foundation Kyrgyzstan, and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ). As a result of the seminar and meetings, stakeholders of judicial reform in Kyrgyzstan including Members of Parliament, a representative of the Presidential Administration, members of civil society and the CSJ members, requested that the main recommendations and observations made during the seminar be officially shared with the relevant authorities in Kyrgyzstan. The present report serves this purpose and is intended to provide some guidance and additional considerations for the continuing reform debate related to the selection of judges in the Kyrgyz Republic