Seitenhistorie

The rule of law in Afghanistan has been, generally speaking, fragile. The _[Bonn Agreement|http://www.afghangovernment.com/AfghanAgreementBonn.htm]_ (2001) began the process, focusing on political institutions and procedures, emphasizing the reform of Afghanistan's justice system by stating that "with the assistance of the United Nations, a Judicial Commission \[should be established\] to rebuild the domestic justice system in accordance with Islamic principles, international standards, the rule of law and Afghan legal traditions." (Chapter II. 2. on "Legal framework and judicial system")_._ Subsequently, the _[_Afghanistan Compact_|http://unama.unmissions.org/Portals/UNAMA/Documents/AfghanistanCompact-English.pdf]_ (London Conference 2006) followed up on that initiative by signalling an agreement between the Afghan government and the international community. Moreover, the Rome&nbsp;_[Conference on the Rule of Law in Afghanistan|http://www.rolafghanistan.esteri.it/NR/rdonlyres/C555AE7E-E27F-4475-A050-75BD50F2B637/0/RomeConferenceChairsConclusions.pdf]_ (2007) - based on UN Security Council [Resolution 1746|http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/460b8acb1c6.html] (2007) - reaffirmed the crucial importance of judicial and legal reform and the implantation of the rule of law reform for the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Finally, in 2008, the United Nations Development Programme Afghanistan arranged the _Support to Provincial Justice Coordination Mechanism_ project.&nbsp;Accordingly, the legal rule of law discourse and analyses have been centred primarily under the overall scope of Afghanistan's justice system reform. Disquisitions on the rule of law in Afghanistan are therefore rather focusing on efforts dealing with practical issues such as the establishment of procedures and strengthening the judiciary as stipulated e.g. in the "<span style="color: black"><em>qānūn-e tashkīlāt va salāhiyāt-e mohākem-e qove-ye qasā-ye jomhūrī-ye eslāmī-ye Afghānestān" (Law of Organisation and Jurisdiction of Courts of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Official Gazette o. 851, 31 Sawar 1384 (21 May 2005))</em></span><span style="color: black">.</span> At large, the evaluation of the situation seems to be disheartening (Barnett 2007: 1). Some observers state that the rule of law in Afghanistan has not improved since the overthrow of the Taliban in December 2001. Many point out that security and freedom from corruption - key elements in fostering the rule of law - are nowhere near a reality in a country that has been ranked in the second or third lowest percentile for corruption by the World Bank Institute (Wardak et al. 2007: 37-50; Röder 2007: role of the state (dawlat) as a formal structure of authority, and in maintaining social order in Afghan society, has historically been limited. This applies in particular to rural Afghanistan, where about 80% of the Afghan population has been living (Barfield 2008: 353). In some southern and eastern parts of the country, state institutions have no - or merely a nominal - existence (Wardak 2006: 355; Zuccarelli 2006: 227; Hagerty/Hagerty 2005: 123).The weakness of the Afghan state in mind, the _[Bonn Agreement|http://www.afghangovernment.com/AfghanAgreementBonn.htm]_ (2001) began a process, focusing on political institutions and procedures, emphasizing the reform of Afghanistan's justice system by stating that "with the assistance of the United Nations, a Judicial Commission \[should be established\] to rebuild the domestic justice system in accordance with Islamic principles, international standards, the rule of law and Afghan legal traditions." (Chapter II. 2. on "Legal framework and judicial system")_._ Subsequently, the _[_Afghanistan Compact_|http://unama.unmissions.org/Portals/UNAMA/Documents/AfghanistanCompact-English.pdf]_ (London Conference 2006) followed up on that initiative by signalling an agreement between the Afghan government and the international community. Moreover, the Rome&nbsp;_[Conference on the Rule of Law in Afghanistan|http://www.rolafghanistan.esteri.it/NR/rdonlyres/C555AE7E-E27F-4475-A050-75BD50F2B637/0/RomeConferenceChairsConclusions.pdf]_ (2007) - based on UN Security Council [Resolution 1746|http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/460b8acb1c6.html] (2007) - reaffirmed the crucial importance of judicial and legal reform and the implantation of the rule of law reform for the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Finally, in 2008, the United Nations Development Programme Afghanistan arranged the _Support to Provincial Justice Coordination Mechanism_ project.&nbsp;Accordingly, the legal rule of law discourse and analyses have been centred primarily under the overall scope of Afghanistan's justice system reform. Disquisitions on the rule of law in Afghanistan are therefore rather focusing on efforts dealing with practical issues such as the establishment of procedures and strengthening the judiciary as stipulated e.g. in the "<span style="color: black"><em>qānūn-e tashkīlāt va salāhiyāt-e mohākem-e qove-ye qasā-ye jomhūrī-ye eslāmī-ye Afghānestān" (Law of Organisation and Jurisdiction of Courts of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Official Gazette o. 851, 31 Sawar 1384 (21 May 2005))</em></span><span style="color: black">.</span> At large, the evaluation of the situation seems to be disheartening (Barnett 2007: 1). Some observers state that the rule of law in Afghanistan has not improved since the overthrow of the Taliban in December 2001. Many point out that security and freedom from corruption - key elements in fostering the rule of law - are nowhere near a reality in a country that has been ranked in the second or third lowest percentile for corruption by the World Bank Institute (Wardak et al. 2007: 37-50; Röder 2007: 307).