Over 40 percent of prisoners in Mexico are awaiting trial. To address the problem, the state of Morelos worked with the Open Society Justice Initiative to establish a program to manage supervised pretrial release.

Nigeria’s prisons are notoriously overcrowded. This fact sheet outlines a project launched in 2005 by the NGO REPLACE, aiming to reduce the prison population and shorten the length of pretrial detention.

Locking up prisoners for extended periods while awaiting trial feeds corruption; bribes are needed for food and water, for blankets and even to see a lawyer.

Of the nearly ten million people in detention around the world, those held before trial or conviction are most at risk of torture.

The majority of Sierra Leone's prison population is in pretrial detention. To reduce the numbers, a local NGO is piloting a prorgam that provides early legal assistance to criminal defendants.

We seek to document what happens when pretrial justice systems fail, and to develop and share cost-effective ways to get them working.

There are many causes for the global over-use of pretrial detention, but there are also cost-effective solutions. As this fact sheet outlines, early intervention by lawyers and paralegals can have a positive impact.

What is the difference between “ordinary” crimes and crimes against humanity? When lawyers talk about international law, what does that mean?