The number of paralegals providing free basic justice services in Sierra Leone will more than double next month, as donors join with non-governmental organizations and community-based groups to create a nation-wide network of legal assistance.

The Centre for the Study of African Economies, Oxford University, is evaluating a pilot criminal justice paralegal program launched last year by Timap for Justice and the Open Society Justice Initiative in Sierra Leone.

Open Society Justice Initiative executive director James A. Goldston discusses the need for a new approach to rule of law reform, emphasizing local expertise and mutual learning between the global north and south.

An empirical study of legal aid in Istanbul jointly undertaken by the Open Society Justice Initiative and Istanbul Bilgi University found that only 10 percent of criminal defendants in Istanbul are represented by a lawyer.

The Moldovan parliament voted unanimously to approve a new legal aid law developed by a working group which benefited from extensive consultations with the Open Society Justice Initiative.

A new legal aid law adopted in Georgia introduces a full-fledged model of public defenders as legal aid providers, a development praised by the Open Society Justice Initiative.

Ukraine's second pilot public defender office was launched last week in Bila Tsirkva, an initiative that is part of a project on legal aid reform in Ukraine operated by the Open Society Justice Initiative and the International Renaissance Foundation.

A newly opened public defender office—a joint project of the Open Society Justice Initiative and two other civil society groups—recorded a major success last week when it was assured by Regional Director of Kharkiv Police that local police will...