TEXT

CLDP
Commercial Law Development Program
Office of General Counsel
United States Department of Commerce

IMPROVING THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE

Stephen D. Gardner
Chief Counsel
 CLDP
Commercial Law Development Program
Office of General Counsel
United States Department of Commerce

What is CLDP?

The Office of General Counsel’s Commercial Law

Development Program (CLDP) contributes to the
Department’s mission overseas by providing
commercial and legal technical assistance in
developing and transitioning countries worldwide.

IMPROVING THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE

 CLDP
Commercial Law Development Program
Office of General Counsel
United States Department of Commerce

Our History

Since its inception in 1992, CLDP has engaged in

transformational diplomacy by providing technical assistance to
more than 50 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the
former Soviet Union, the Middle East, Northern and Sub-
Saharan Africa and South-East Asia.

CLDP has conducted more than 1000 separate training and

short-term consultative programs and provided training to
approximately 20,000 policymakers, regulators, judges,
lawyers, teachers and business persons.

IMPROVING THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE

 CLDP
Commercial Law Development Program
Office of General Counsel
United States Department of Commerce

How Do We Achieve Our Mission?

Drawing heavily from the expertise available within

the Department of Commerce, CLDP programs assist
political, judicial and commercial leaders to identify
and make needed improvements in their laws, policies
and organizational structures.

CLDP’s team of lawyers and specialists with

international experience and fluent language abilities
(including Arabic, French, Spanish, Russian,
Portuguese and Swahili), design and implement
assistance strategies to remove obstacles to business
development.
IMPROVING THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE
 CLDP
Commercial Law Development Program
Office of General Counsel
United States Department of Commerce

CLDP Strategic Goals for FY 2006-

2008
Expand opportunities for U.S. business by creating
more transparent legal and business environments in
key developing markets

Advance the growth of democracy and good

governance through commercial legal reform and
governmental institution building

Change negative views of the United States through

mutually beneficial bilateral technical cooperation

Improve operations consistent with principles

contained in the President’s Management Agenda

IMPROVING THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE

 CLDP
Commercial Law Development Program
Office of General Counsel
United States Department of Commerce

Mechanisms for Implementing

Assistance
Long and short-term advisors on WTO accession, IP,
procurement, etc.

In-country and regional conferences and workshops

U.S.-based consultations

Ministerial or departmental capacity building (with U.S.

Government experience and practice as an example)

IMPROVING THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE

 CLDP
Commercial Law Development Program
Office of General Counsel
United States Department of Commerce

Access to World Class Expertise Throughout

the Department of Commerce Including:

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

National Institute of Standards and Technology

International Trade Administration

National Telecommunications and Information

Administration

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

IMPROVING THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE

 CLDP
Commercial Law Development Program
Office of General Counsel
United States Department of Commerce

How CLDP maximizes the value of free

trade agreements and advances the
interests of American business in key
developing markets:
CLDP provided WTO accession technical assistance to six of
the first eight post-Soviet states to join the WTO (Bulgaria,
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Albania and Moldova).

CLDP is currently working with the governments of Russia,

Ukraine, Bosnia and Algeria to facilitate their WTO accessions.

CLDP continues to provide assistance on the implementation

of WTO obligations to the vast majority of countries in which it
works.

IMPROVING THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE

 CLDP
Commercial Law Development Program
Office of General Counsel
United States Department of Commerce

SUCCESS STORIES

ALGERIA
MOROCCO
WEST AFRICA
SOUTHEAST EUROPE

IMPROVING THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE

 CLDP
Commercial Law Development Program
Office of General Counsel
United States Department of Commerce

ALGERIA
CHALLENGE: To ensure that Algeria’s IP laws (written in
compliance with the WTO TRIPS Agreement) are
effectively enforced.

CLDP STRATEGY: Trained a cadre of elite Algerian judges in

adjudicating disputes arising under IP laws through the
use of French language case studies created by CLDP.

RESULT: Procter and Gamble’s head of operations for the

region “credited the CLDP program for the successful
outcome of two recent landmark IPR suits brought by P&G,
noting that the adjudicating judge in each case had
received IPR training under the CLDP program.” (Algiers
1601)
IMPROVING THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE
 CLDP
Commercial Law Development Program
Office of General Counsel
United States Department of Commerce

MOROCCO
CHALLENGE: To ensure that Morocco complies with its
commitments under the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade
Agreement (FTA).

CLDP STRATEGY: In only six months, a team of French-

speaking CLDP lawyers reviewed every single Moroccan
law, regulation and practice having a bearing on
Morocco’s compliance with every chapter of the FTA.

RESULT: CLDP prepared a confidential user friendly

“catalogue of discrepancies” between Morocco’s laws,
regulations and practices and the country’s commitments
under the FTA. This document (especially its IP chapter)
was used by USTR to ensure compliance before the FTA’s
entry into force.
IMPROVING THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE
 CLDP
Commercial Law Development Program
Office of General Counsel
United States Department of Commerce

WEST AFRICA
CHALLENGE: To promote a harmonized set of investment
laws and procedures for the West Africa region, thereby
facilitating the process of regional investment.

CLDP STRATEGY: Developed a model investment law, in

conjunction with Francophone and Anglophone jurists, that
incorporates the procedural and substantive differences
between the common law and civil law traditions.

RESULT: This model law is under consideration for adoption

by the Economic Community of West African States, and
by the Organization for the Harmonization of Business
Laws in Africa (OHADA) as the basis for a Uniform Act,
which would enable investors to approach the region as a
single entity in their investment decision-making.
IMPROVING THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE
 CLDP
Commercial Law Development Program
Office of General Counsel
United States Department of Commerce

SOUTHEAST EUROPE
CHALLENGE: To reduce arbitrarily applied and divergent
sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) which impede
trade in the Southeast Europe region.

CLDP STRATEGY: CLDP, utilizing the guidelines of the WTO

SPS Agreement, established three Stability Pact-wide
(eight countries) regional working groups to cover the
areas of food safety, animal health, and plant protection.

RESULT: These working groups constitute important

mechanisms to enable the timely exchange of information
on legislation and regulatory requirements, and to
determine regional solutions to specific pest and disease
outbreaks, such as Avian Influenza.

IMPROVING THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE

 CLDP
Commercial Law Development Program
Office of General Counsel
United States Department of Commerce

Contact Information

Stephen D. Gardner, Chief Counsel

Commercial Law Development Program
1401 Constitution Ave., NW Stop 5875
Washington, DC 20230
Tel: (202) 482-2400
Fax: (202) 482-0006
www.cldp.doc.gov

IMPROVING THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR BUSINESS WORLDWIDE