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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This African Court Decision Could Curb Electoral Abuse during COVID-19
The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights issues a groundbreaking decision to guarantee transparent, free, and fair elections during the pandemic.
Case Watch: A Mother’s Search for Her Son Leads to Groundbreaking Decision on Disappearances in Mexico
In a major victory for the hundreds of disappeared people and their loved ones in Mexico, the nation’s highest court recognized the mandatory nature of urgent actions issued by the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
Why Hundreds of European Children Living in Syrian Camps Must Be Repatriated
After more than two years of turning a blind eye to the dire situation of children in the camps in northeast Syria, it’s time European states fulfilled their responsibilities and repatriated them with their primary caregivers.
Why We Are Going to Court to Fight Racist French Police Tactics
Two French activists are demanding systematic action to address deep-rooted patterns of ethnic profiling in police stops.
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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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Eight Years After Chemical Weapons Attacks at Ghouta, Investigations Have Been Opened in Three European Countries
Judicial authorities in Germany, France, and Sweden have opened investigations into chemical weapons attacks by the Syrian government, crimes against humanity that have killed hundreds of civilians, including children.
ECJ Reaffirms Restrictions Excluding Muslim Women in the Workplace
The top European Union court has made it clear that employers can restrict the wearing of "religious symbols," such as Islamic headscarves, but only in limited circumstances, which will stigmatize Muslim women.
Justice Initiative Commends the Supreme Court for Declining to Immunize US Companies for International Law Violations Committed Abroad
The Supreme Court has ruled against enslaved children's bid to hold U.S. companies accountable for abusive labor practices, it also held that companies are not fully exempt—leaving open a route to greater corporate accountability.