Litigation
Justice Initiative lawyers have represented scores of individuals and groups before domestic and international human rights courts and tribunals around the world. These cases seek not only to vindicate individual claims, but to establish and strengthen the law’s protection for all.
Zhao v. Netherlands
In the UN Human Rights Committee's first ever decision on the right of children to acquire nationality, it determined that by registering a child as “nationality unknown”, Dutch authorities violated his right to international protection and to seek a nationality.
Last update: December 29, 2020Nubian Rights Forum et al. v. the Honourable Attorney General of Kenya et al. (“NIIMS case”)
The Nubian Rights Forum and the Kenya Human Rights Commission have appealed a Kenyan High Court decision on the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) (or "Huduma Namba"), a national identity card system that would exclude millions of Kenyan residents and give the government all-encompassing surveillance powers.
Coalition on Violence Against Women and Others v. the Attorney-General of Kenya and Others
A group of Kenyan civil society organizations and victims of sexual and gender-based violence have brought a case to the Nairobi High Court against six Kenyan government officials demanding accountability.
Last update: February 20, 2013Citizens Against Violence and Others v. the Attorney General of Kenya and Others
More than 400 Kenyans were shot dead by police during the post-election violence in Kenya in early 2008. Victims have brought a class action constitutional case demanding accountability for the killings.
Last update: February 13, 2013Children of Nubian Descent in Kenya v. Kenya
The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child found that children of Kenya's Nubian minority face discrimination leading to statelessness, violating African human rights standards.
Last update: September 30, 2011Sanoma Uitgevers v. the Netherlands
When an editor refused to hand over photos taken by a journalist, Dutch police tried to close the magazine down. The Open Society Justice Initiative argued that the police had violated freedom of expression.
Last update: September 14, 2010Nubian Community in Kenya v. Kenya
Africa's human rights tribunal found that members of Kenya's Nubian community face arbitrary procedures that restrict their access to vital national identity documents.
Last update: May 17, 2010Dutch Caribbean Consultative Body v. Data Protection Authority
This case challenges the Dutch government’s attempt to create a database of all youths of Antillean descent.
Last update: March 11, 2009