Activity report for 1999(PDF) - Soros Foundation Moldova

the Legal Clinic was re-launched.
Three round tables were organised where problems
related to legal assistance of clients in difficult civil
cases were discussed.
Two trials were mocked on this type of cases and
the students won both of them. Two students, members
of the Legal Clinic were invited to participate in seminars
on clinical activity in Sankt-Petersbourg and
Moscow.
As far as professional education of students is concerned,
it is important to mention that only in those
conditions offered by the Legal Clinic, they have the
possibility to be involved “live” in legal assistance, the
most spectacular, of course, being representation in the
court.
Students were offered the possibility to develop
their practical skills by providing community service to
vulnerable groups of population. In the same time they
got familiar with the practice of the legal institutions,
with the structure of juridical system and with court
procedures.
Students have the possibility to acquire and build
on their knowledge related to professional ethics and
confidentiality.
It is also necessary to mention that the clinical
course has been introduced into the curriculum of the
School of Law of the SUM as an optional course.
The students obtain credits for this course at the
end of first semester on the basis of the activity reports,
tutor’s grades and the general evaluation of the student’s
activity conducted by the co-ordinating group of
the Legal Clinic.
$ 30,000
English for Lawyers
The process of the legal reform and the creation of
the state based on the rule of law requires the adjustment
of legislation to international standards. To this
end, contacts between local and international professionals
and, subsequently, foreign language proficiency
are absolutely necessary. This is also relevant for
law faculty and students. This is an essential condition
for the examination, analysis and application of
legal documents and international legal practice to the
process of the legal reform. Therefore, in 1999 the Law
Program of the SFM supported financially the development
of an ESP course for lawyers. This course was
taught to 16 representatives of the Moldovan legal
community. At the same time, the program offered a
number of individual grants to a group of law students
and graduates.
At present, 15 representatives of the courts and
prosecution offices are taking a course of English,
beginning level, at the Pro Didactica English Language
School.
1999 ACTIVITY REPORT
ESP course for lawyers, 16 persons $ 4,121
General English course for law students and graduates,
advanced level, 19 persons $ 3,170
English Course for judges and prosecutors, 15 persons
$ 7,672.50
Total: $ 14,963.50
Translations and Commentaries Program
The program on translation of foreign legal texts
and development of commentaries to national legal
texts was launched in 1998 and successfully continued
in 1999. The legal community confronts the specific
problem of constantly changing and controversial legislation.
This is a situation characteristic to the countries
in transition where the same legal issues are regulated
differently by different laws, creating serious difficulties
for enforcement and cause controversial interpretations.
The aim of the program was to motivate professionals
in law to comment upon value, competitiveness
and applicability of this type of controversial legal regulations.
Priority was given to the legislation governing
non-governmental and non-commercial sector. The
commentaries produced within the program were published
and submitted to court officials, prosecutors,
legal education institutions, ministries with an aim to
facilitate the correct and uniform application of the
commented normative acts.
The program offered the following grants:
Commentary to the Law on Joint Stock Companies
Sergiu MÆMÆLIGÆ $ 300
Commentary to the Law on Labour Contract
Tudor CAPØA $ 500
Commentary to the Law on Administrative-Territorial
Division
Ion CREANGÆ and Oleg UfiICÆ $ 500
Commentary to the Law on International Sale of
Goods
Lilia GRIBINCEA $ 500
Local Public Administration in the Republic of
Moldova. Legislative Commentaries.
Victor POPA $ 1,500
Tatiana MANOLE $ 1,000
Ion MIHÆILUfiÆ $ 1,000
Publishing of the commentary on Local Public
Administration in the Republic of Moldova. Legislative
Commentaries $ 1,756
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