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The Russian American Rule of Law Consortium (RAROLC) is a group of legal communities working together to develop legal institutions and the rule of law in both the United States and Russia. Each community is comprised of volunteer legal professionals from an American state who have partnered with professionals from a Russian region.
RAROLC improves the capacity of local Russian legal institutions to implement reform. The organization has been instrumental in the development of judicial and lawyer education programs. It has provided effective professional development opportunities for legal professionals to implement reforms effectively and to bring justice to citizens.
RAROLC is unique in that it depends almost exclusively on the volunteer activities of legal professionals, and maintains ongoing programs primarily at the regional level. Programs are identified based on the needs of a particular Russian legal community, and steering committees from both the American state and Russian region work together to affect sustainable legal reforms. Steering committees are comprised of judges, lawyers, law professors and other legal professionals in the partnership areas.
Currently, RAROLC is the recipient of a USAID grant known as “RLPP.” RLPP is a partnership of the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) and the Russian American Rule of Law Consortium (RAROLC). The purpose of the Rule of Law Partnership Program (RLPP) is to provide technical assistance to build the capacity of Russian judges, lawyers and court personnel to respond effectively to the needs of ordinary citizens.
The RLPP project aims to improve access to justice by encouraging: improvements in the operation of the justice of the peace courts; professional self-governance of the legal profession and judiciary; and partnerships between U.S. and Russian judges, judicial offices and lawyers' associations. The project works with the Justices of the Peace and the users of those courts in three target regions (Leningrad, Nizhni Novgorod, and Rostov Oblasts) on issues of improved court operations, enhanced access to justice, and improvements in the institution and training of justices of the peace. It assists the legal profession in areas such as professional self-governance and ethics regulation, and facilitates contact between the U.S. and Russian judiciaries. The project also promotes voluntary free legal services and the development of centers for continuing legal education.
RAROLC also receives funding from the Open World Leadership Center to facilitate ten-day intensive visits by key leaders of legal communities to the United States. Since 1999 RAROLC has hosted hundreds of Open World delegates from Russia. In 2005 RAROLC began hosting Ukrainian Open World delegations and since 2007 has hosted delegations from Azerbaijan, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Georgia.
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