Random observations from a US lawyer

Warning: Non-lawyers should skip this post at risk of extreme boredom. Lawyers might find it boring too. Sorry about that.

Anyhow, I'm noticing that many of the Mongolian laws and legal procedures are similar to those in the US system. However, the differences are fun to consider:

Mongolian trial judges normally hear cases in panels of three, with one judge designated as the lead judge. The panel reaches its decision when at least 2 of the 3 agree.

“Citizen representatives” play a role similar to that of jurors in the US system. They listen to the case and ask questions; however, they have no decision making authority and only can make recommendations to the judges.

The Mongolian law of the courts requires the court system to pay for each judge’s round-trip travel to a “domestic sanatorium” biannually.

Below is a shot of the public access station at the supreme court. Currently, every court in Mongolia has a clerk with a pc to assist court customers. Before these stations were established a few years ago, there were no customer service counters and no way for the public to access case information.


The law guarantees each judge a minimum of 14 days per year for continuing legal education.

The supreme court gives an award (with a prize) each year for “best court.”

Until fairly recently, appellate judges could review and alter the decisions of lower court judges even though the parties had not appealed. (That must have been quite a surprise to the parties!). Appellate court judges still review trial court decisions without an appeal, but instead of changing the result they just tell the trial court judges what mistakes they made (the law refers to this practice as giving “professional guidance” to the trial court).

Victims have the right to a lawyer, and the right to appeal the criminal case.

Until recently, supreme court decisions were not published. This was not a major problem because trial court judges are not obligated to follow the decisions or reasoning set out in appellate court decisions. Rather, they look to “official interpretations” of the laws that are set out by the supreme court. These interpretations supply a uniform understanding and correct application of the law.

A separate Constitutional Court (tsets) is responsible for interpreting the constitutionality of the laws. Questions of constitutional interpretation can be brought by citizens, government officials, or sua sponte by the court itself.

Work (Ajil)

The Mongolia Judicial Reform Project (JRP) is a multi-year initiative to improve a variety of aspects of the Mongolian legal system (see link in the sidebar for more information). Partners in the project include USAID and the National Center for State Courts. I am here under the auspices of the JRP to work with the Supreme Court Research Center to better define its goals and objectives. The Supreme Court Research Center is the entity responsible, among other things, for compiling, analyzing and reporting information about cases handled by all the trial and appellate courts in the country.

So far, working in the SCRC is surprisingly familiar. Anyone who has worked in the judicial branch in the US would recognize and understand the dynamics between branches and within different units of the same branch here in Mongolia. For example, although the principle of an independent court system/judiciary seems well established, how to make that concept a practical reality is very much an ongoing project. Also familiar to anyone who’s worked in Alaska is the administrative structure of the Mongolian court system (highly unified and administered by the supreme court), the caseload distribution (about 40-50% of all cases are filed in Ulaanbaator with the rest scattered among trial and appellate courts located in rural aimags), and the lack of transportation and communication infrastructure. Unlike in Alaska, though, teleconferences do not seem to be widely used, perhaps because calling long distance is so expensive.


Two of my co-workers at the Supreme Court Research Center

The Countryside

One of the first things that a resident of UB will say to a new arrival is, "You must get out of the city and visit the countryside." Alaskans will be quite familiar with this advice, since we give it to tourists all the time (as in: "You haven't seen the real Alaska until you've gotten out of Anchorage"). It seems that everyone who can afford a second house outside of town buys one and goes there on weekends or for several weeks in the summer (does this sound familiar?). People who can't afford a second house take tents and camp on the outskirts of town on the weekends. In fact, sometimes it seems that no one is left in town on the weekends--the traffic is noticeably less.

This is a photo of a barbeque recently hosted by Brigitte C. at her dachau just north of UB. While some of us went for a short hike in the nearby hills, Peter grilled pork, sheep, and beef on a "Brazilian barbeque" that he had cleverly constructed. After the hike, we lounged in the sun eating and drinking beer.


And last Sunday, I invited myself along on a hike with a group that goes regularly. We hiked up one of the four holy mountains (uuls) that surround UB: Bayanzurkhkhairkhan (Bayanzurkh for short). At the top was a large ovoo (cairn) wrapped in prayer flags. The proper way to encounter an ovoo is to walk clockwise around it three times, which we all did.

I continue to be surprised by the mildness of the weather. There is no snow yet in town or even in the nearby foothills. When the sun shines, it is downright warm. So I am hoping to get in a few more hikes before winter decides to get serious.

Halloween

On the last weekend in October, some Americans living in UB organized a Halloween party at a local nightclub (see below re: Night Life). Here, Brigitte C. and I show off our hair and make up created especially for the occasion by a local salon artiste. Unbelieveably, we did not win the prize for best costumes--that went to two Americans who came as clouds. Honorable mention went to Michael Jackson.

Night Life (Shoniin Amidral)

UB is a cosmopolitan city where residents are familiar with a variety of European and American holidays and celebrations. Thus, the last weekend in October featured both a Halloween party at a local nightclub (see photo above), and a celebration of Oktoberfest at the Brau Haus restaurant. At the Brau Haus, there were two types of German beer on draft (brand not specified), and the Mongolian wait staff were outfitted in authentic-looking lederhosen and German hats. The crowd politely clapped when the staff attempted German line dancing, but they went wild for the local band that followed. The lead singer, sporting baggy leather pants and long, permed hair, enhanced his "cool guy" image by smoking a cigarette during several songs. When he stopped singing to take drags, the crowd enthusiastically filled in the vocals. Perhaps heeding the adage to always leave the crowd wanting more, the band played for exactly 30 minutes and then swiftly departed in a blur of leather and cigarette smoke. After the band was a quiz contest, followed by another contest that I can't really explain, and then bingo. Who knew that bingo is a German game? But who cares: It was great practice for learning my Mongolian numbers.