Mongolian Delegation Makes Local Stop

A delegation of officials from Mongolia was in Hillsboro recently as part of the Asian Judicial Institute (AJI) at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law.
The country had a bloodless revolution in 1992 following the break up of the USSR and a democratic government replaced the communist regime.
It continues to work to set up an independent judiciary as part of its democracy, which was the focus of the latest trip.
Joe Spurlock II, who is a professor at the law school, hosted the group.
He serves as director of the AJI, which was created in 1996 to assist the Mongolians in their transition from communism to a democracy with Western-style economic principles.

A former state legislator and judge, Spurlock retired a number of years ago from the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth.
The delegation was led by Dr. Biraa Chimid, Gombosuren Ganzorig and Dashjamts Battulga.
Dr. Chimid is considered the father of the Mongolian constitution, and his daughter, Sanzaiya, served as interpreter for the group.
Ganzorig is legal advisor to the president of Mongolia and former member of the Mongolian Supreme Court, and Battulga is chief of staff for the president.
The delegation also met with Governor Rick Perry, members of the Texas Supreme Court and Texas Ethics Commission in Austin during its trip.
Hill County Judge Justin Lewis, who attends the Fort Worth law school, made a presentation on the role of the small-claims court in Texas when the group visited the Hill County Courthouse.
The judge explained that the small-claims court is the “lay-person’s” court in Texas.
Rules of evidence don’t apply in the court, which leads to a quicker resolution of disputes.
“The group is studying whether such a court would work better in the tribal regions of the country rather than courts with long civil processes.
“It would be similar to the traditional tribal elder making rulings,” Judge Lewis said recently.
The presentation was capped off by a tour of the courthouse.

Source:www.hillsbororeporter.com (a newspaper in Texas)