President of Kyrgyzstan
In 1995, President of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akaev announced a decree to revitalize the "aqsaqal" courts of village elders. The courts would have jurisdiction over property, torts and family law. The "aqsaqal" courts were eventually included under Article 92 of the Kyrgyz constitution. As of 2006, there were approximately 1,000 "aqsaqal" courts throughout Kyrgyzstan, including in the capital of Bishkek. Akaev linked the development of these courts to the rekindling of Kyrgyz national identity. In a 2005 speech, he connected the courts back to the country's nomadic past and extolled how the courts expressed the Kyrgyz ability of self-governance. Similar "aqsaqal" courts exist, with varying levels of legal formality, in other countries of Central Asia.