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.
Wa Baile v. Switzerland
Mohamed Wa Baile claimed to have been subjected to ethnic profiling in 2015, when he was stopped by police officers in a train station in Zurich and told to identify himself. In 2018, Wa Baile complained to the European Court of Human Rights,which found in his favor in February, 2024.
Last update: February 20, 2024IACHR Advisory Opinion on Climate Emergency and Human Rights
This submission argues for an ambitious and expansive approach to the protection of the rights of people displaced by the climate emergency, as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights prepares an Advisory Opinion that will shape future regional law and policy in the region.
Vidberg v. France
Prosecutors’ refusals to open criminal proceedings constitute obstacles to access to justice for victims. The Justice Initiative submitted an amicus brief in this case emphasizing the importance of prosecutorial accountability to guarantee the rule of law.
Hanan v. Germany
In 2016, Abdul Hanan, the father of the two boys killed in a German airstrike in Afghanistan, filed a complaint before the European Court for Human Rights alleging that Germany had not conducted an effective investigation into the attack.
Laura Codruța Kövesi v. Romania
After being dismissed from her position as chief prosecutor of Romania's National Anticorruption Directorate, Laura Codruța Kövesi lodged a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. The court ruled that the conditions of her removal had violated the European Convention on Human Rights.
Yenina Esther Martínez Esquivia v. Colombia
Former Colombian delegate prosecutor Yenina Esther Martínez Esquivia has filed a petition before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights concerning her removal in 2004 after Martínez Esquivia ignored her superior’s orders to prematurely close a corruption investigation.
Centre for Accountability and the Rule of Law et al v. Sierra Leone
Two health-workers involved in efforts to combat the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, who themselves contracted and survived the virus, are seeking redress for deaths and damages caused by the corrupt diversion of million of international emergency relief funds.
Sentsov and Kolchenko v. Russia
The imposition of Russian nationality on Ukrainian citizens in Crimea resulted in the violation of the applicants' fair trial rights.
Last update: November 20, 2019