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 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.
How Independent Agencies Can Begin to Hold Police Accountable
Countries around the world are building agencies independent from the police to conduct and prosecute allegations of serious crimes by police or other state agents
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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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First-ever Sentence on Syrian Government's Crimes against Humanity Handed Down by German Court
A former Syrian government official has been found guilty of crimes against humanity for his role in being the co-perpetrator of torture, severe deprivation of liberty, and sexual violence, in addition to other crimes, and sentenced to life in prison by the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz, Germany.
Danish Court Upholds Right To Challenge Government’s Racially Discriminatory “Ghetto” Package Eviction Plan
Denmark’s Eastern High Court has ruled in favor of residents who brought forward a legal challenge against a housing development plan to be carried out under the so-called Ghetto Package, a set of laws which target Muslims and other racialized groups of migrant descent for discrimination.
The Justice Initiative Supports French Youth in Complaint Against Wrongful Lockdown Fines
Over thirty teenagers and young adults from the French working-class district of Essonne are challenging penalties they received during the Spring 2020 coronavirus lockdown for violating a stay-at-home order, claiming that the fines are unlawful, inappropriate, and discriminatory.