Working in Afghanistan’s post-war environment from 2004 to 2009, MSI was a subcontractor to Checchi and Company Consulting Inc. on the Afghanistan Rule of Law Activity (AROLP). The project worked on rebuilding the nation’s justice sector to make it more functional, efficient and responsive to the needs of the people of Afghanistan. Furthermore, the assignment strived to create an environment of respect for the rule of law. Utilizing a significant media component, the project was creatively increasing public awareness on justice issues and drawing people together across religious lines to discuss gender issues.

MSI was responsible for activities in the areas of strengthening the court administration system; strengthening the legal education system; public awareness/access to justice activities concerning people’s rights under the Constitution and the law; judicial training; law reform and legislative drafting; women's rights in Islam; and work with the Commercial Court.

• MSI was very successful in public outreach and awareness on the roles of the informal and informal justice sectors. The firm reached this goal though the production of films, comic books, TV quiz shows, TV dramas, informational leaflets and radio shows. This component supported 34 Community Cultural Centers in the 27 districts of Kapisa, Panjshir, Parwan and Maiden-Wardak provinces. These Centers provide community and cultural services to youth and adults focusing on public and media outreach, legal referrals and human rights.
• The legal education component helped to reestablish the Law Journal that was abandoned during the wars, and provided basic legal texts to the law schools in Afghanistan, thereby providing the students and teachers with basic resources not previously available. This component sponsored study tours for law professors to law schools in both India and the United States. A new, up-to-date textbook, focusing on the sub-course of Family Law, with an objective based syllabus infused with enhanced methods of teaching and learning and a companion course teaching text was distributed to Law and Sharia Faclties and libraries in Kabul, Heart, Balkh, Nangarhar, Khost and Al Biruni Univeristies and to the Independent National Legal Training Center, select ministries and Supreme Court libraries.
• The court administrative component dedicated considerable resources to developing models of how and in what numbers, cases flow through the system, what actions are required to adequately facilitate court operations, and how personnel (including judges) are assigned, updated and tracked. Based upon that, the Afghanistan Court Administration System (ACAS) -the first change made to the judiciary’s case processing system in nearly 40 years - was designed and implemented. To date, 826 judges and 898 administrators from 356 courts in all 34 provinces have received ACAS training in case registration and file management.
• In 2006, the project added a women's rights in Islam component, which focused on creating venues for public discourse and dialogue among Afghan and non-Afghan Muslim scholars relating to women within a broader framework of international Islamic thought. The program facilitated more than 100 public dialogues for 2,858 individuals in 23 provincese. This component also helped to educate women about their rights. In January 2009, AROLP launched an Access to Justice Campaign in Nangarhar and Baghlan provinces to raise awareness about women’s rights in the justice sector as well as to dispel misperceptions via radio and television programs as well as through the distribution of school bags/kits, canvas shopping bags, pamphlets, comic books, pens, stickers and posters.

The project successfully closed out in July 2009.

Search our Career's Page to learn more about job opportunities in Afghanistan.