Afghanistan Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP)

Legal protections for businesses are critical to long-term economic growth, and Afghanistans legal regime for commerce is underdeveloped. Commercial laws are poorly written and inconsistently applied. Further, the country lacks skilled lawyers and judges able to argue and adjudicate commercial cases.

The Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), an Inter-Agency Agreement between USAID and the Department of Commerce, is a vital step towards improving the legal environment for business in Afghanistan. A $7 million CLDP award began in October 2014 and ends in September 2016.

The program consists of four components, each designed to address a specific gap: (1) increase the capacity of the Afghan academic community to provide commercial law education; (2) promote a business enabling environment where the Afghan private sector can engage in legitimate and transparent business practices, avoid legal disputes, and resolve disputes properly; (3) enhance the capacity of the Afghan government to effectively administer and enforce commercial law; and (4) develop and strengthen alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.