USAID Judicial and Legal Project Under Review in Georgia
ME&A conducted the mid-term performance evaluation of USAID’s Judicial Independence and Legal Empowerment Project (JILEP) in Georgia, with an ME&A team in the field from July 1 through July 17, 2013.
JILEP is a four-year USAID-funded initiative structured around four components – strengthen judicial independence, accountability, and professionalism by supporting the development of the High Council of Justice (HCOJ), charged with appointing, advancing, and disciplining judges; strengthen the institutional capacity of legal professional associations, legal rights NGOs, and the state legal aid system; improve the quality of legal education by improving the accreditation process, introducing more practical skills training, making more specialized training available, and establishing a collaborative relationship with US law schools; and develop commercial law and improve commercial law related practice.
The results of the evaluation will be used by USAID Georgia for improving interventions in the area of rule of law by focusing on the activities that are most meaningful and critical for developing a more independent and efficient judiciary in Georgia as well as strong civil society organizations.
The JILEP evaluation is being conducted under the Caucasus Mission Evaluation IQC which was awarded to ME&A in 2013. Since 2010, ME&A has conducted more than 70 evaluations for USAID and the U.S. Department of State in more than 30 countries worldwide.