Tajikistan - Judicial system

The judicial system from the Soviet period remains largely in place. There are courts at the city, district, regional, and national levels with a separate but parallel system of military courts. National level courts include a supreme court, a constitutional court, a supreme economic court, and a military court. Regional and national level courts function in an appellate capacity to the lower courts. The establishment of extraordinary courts is forbidden.

The president appoints judges and the procurator general to five-year terms with confirmation by the legislature, and the president has the power to dismiss them. The court system suffers from a lack of trained judges and lawyers and from pressures applied by local political factions and the central government.

The law requires public trials except in cases involving national security or protection of minors. There is a right to appointed counsel in criminal cases. As in the Soviet period, the procurators are responsible for arrests, investigations, and prosecutions of defendants.