Making the Law Work for Everyone
The Open Society Justice Initiative uses the law to promote and defend justice and human rights.
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Q&A: The Human Rights Lessons from Bulgaria’s COVID-19 Failures
A lawsuit against Bulgaria under the European Social Charter seeks to reinforce citizens’ protections in the future—by highlighting policy failures that left the country with the highest COVID-19 death rate in Europe.
Q&A: How Putin Could Be Put on Trial for the Crime of Aggression
James A. Goldston, executive director of the Justice Initiative, explains how Russia’s President Vladimir Putin could be prosecuted for the crime of aggression committed against Ukraine.
To Protect against Digital Authoritarianism, Telecom Companies Must Respect Human Rights
The way Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko used internet blackouts to limit digital freedom, stifle dissent, and promote pro-regime messages in 2020 is in line with the well-rehearsed playbook of authoritarian regimes.
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As part of the Open Society Foundations, the Justice Initiative shares its mission of building vibrant and inclusive democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens.
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Since 2003, Justice Initiative lawyers have represented scores of individuals before domestic and international courts, in cases that have sought not only to vindicate individual claims, but to establish and strengthen the law’s protection for all.
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News
European Court of Human Rights Condemns Racist Policing
The European Court of Human Rights has found that police in the Swiss city of Zurich engaged in ethnic profiling, in an identity check stop carried out on Mohamed Wa Baile, a Swiss citizen, at the city’s’ train station in 2015.
Belgian Court Refers Saudi Victim Standing Issue to CJEU
A court in Belgium is asking the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to clarify the scope of EU legislation on the rights of crime victims—in connection with a complaint accusing officials of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of crimes against humanity.
Justice Initiative Urges Expansive Rights Framework for Climate Displacement
As the Inter-American Court of Human Rights develops an Advisory Opinion on the climate emergency that will shape policy across the region, the Justice Initiative has submitted recommendations focused on rights and human mobility.