The legal heritage of Central Asia comprises a multi-layered heritage of ancient Turkic and Persian traditions, Islam (since the seventh century C.E.), and Soviet law and practice (Kamp 1998). This is especially true for the “stans” (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), but Mongolia and Afghanistan were also heavily influenced by Soviet conceptions. Post-Soviet law has continued to reproduce Soviet norms, as well as drawing from legal reforms in the Russian Federation, and the United Nations human rights conventions now ratified by all these…