When changes were approved back in 1995 that enabled village elders in rural areas to handle small-scale legal matters, it was hoped the move would greatly improve the functioning of Kyrgyzstan’s justice system.
Kyrgyzstan's trouble creating effective, independent and corruption-free political institutions remains one of the biggest threats to the country's long-term stability. Reforming the judiciary, which one recent poll rated as the country's most loathed institution, would go a long way toward rebuilding public confidence in the democratization process.
