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.
Class Action Lawsuit against French Government for Ethnic Profiling by Police
The Justice Initiative, along with partner NGOs, filed the first class action lawsuit in France to end ethnic profiling by police, who disproportionately target people based on their skin color or presumed ethnic origin.
Swedish Criminal Investigation of Chemical Weapons Attacks In Syria
On April 19, 2021, the Open Society Justice Initiative joined survivors of chemical weapons attacks in Syria, the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), Syrian Archive, and Civil Rights Defenders in filing a criminal complaint with Swedish War Crimes Commission within the Swedish Police Authority.
French Criminal Investigation of Chemical Weapons Attacks In Syria
On March 1, 2021, the Justice Initiative joined Syrian survivors of chemical weapons attacks, the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), and Syrian Archive in seeking a French criminal investigation for the August 2013 chemical weapons attacks on the city of Douma and on Eastern Ghouta.
Open Society Justice Initiative v. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) et al.
The Justice Initiative seeks the public release by U.S. government agencies of all documents related to the brutal murder in Istanbul of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian dissident writer and editor, and a U.S. permanent resident.
Last update: February 17, 2021Zhao 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, 2020Ana Matilda Gómez Ruiloba v. Panama
Ana Matilda Gómez filed a petition before the Inter-American Commission challenging her dismissal as attorney general of Panama in 2010 after carrying out an investigation against a prosecutor for allegedly accepting bribes.
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.