Judicial bodies in north Afghanistan are hopeful that those who graduated Tuesday from a US-funded legal training course will improve the legal system and court processes.
Attorneys and law enforcement officials welcomed the newly-trained professionals at a graduation ceremony in the capital of northern Balkh province, Mazar-e-Sharif, on Tuesday.
"Holding such programmes as this raises legal awareness on one hand and coordinates the government organisations on the other. It's very effective," said Amin Keliwal of Balkh province appeals court.
Salahuddin Sultan, Balkh police chief of crime scene investigation, said the professional training helps all parties involved understand their respective roles.
"Article 134 of the constitution states that inspection is the attorney's duty while detection is the police's, however it wasn't like this before - both inspection and detection was the police duty. Each of them should know their responsibilities," he said.
The two-month training course was funded by the United States and International Development Law Organisation. It included subjects covering Afghanistan's constitution, the penal code, temporary criminal procedures, counterfeit currency and money laundering, crime reporting, interviewing victims and suspects, and the investigation and collection of proof and documents from the crime scene.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the US senior civilian representative to north Afghanistan Keith Mines said that his country is committed to the long-term support of the Afghan judiciary.
"It's a multifaceted programme, this is the justice sector support programme, which is now the justice transition programme. It goes to dozens and dozens of [judicial] courses assistance, to the Balkh University law school, bar associations. It's an extensive programme that is intended to strengthen every aspect of the justice sector and legal education," Mines said.