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.

This legal briefing provides a summary of some of the proposed changes to the Rules of Procedure of the European Court of Human Rights intended to implement Protocol 16 to the Convention on advisory opinions.

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.

This 12-page illustrated brochure summarizes the successes achieved by a community paralegal project in Sierra Leone that focused on providing front-line legal aid to pretrial detainees.

A submission to the Human Rights Committee from the Open Society Justice Initiative and four other rights groups on the interpretation of human rights law on the use of force.