Search results
2023 Global Human Rights Litigation Report
This report summarizes cases filed by the Open Society Justice Initiative in 2022 to defend and strengthen human rights around the world, as well as cases that remain pending as of December 2022.
State Human Rights Obligations Regarding the Distribution of Scarce Health Resources
This report offers a comprehensive overview of case law concerning the rights to life, health, and nondiscrimination in international, regional, and national systems.
Accountability for Crimes of Personnel of the Wagner Group in Ukraine
A legal analysis of the status of the Wagner Group under international humanitarian law and implications of that status for prosecuting its personnel for international crimes allegedly committed in Ukraine.
2024 Global Human Rights Litigation Report
Read highlights of litigation undertaken by the Open Society Justice Initiative, plus a representative selection of cases illustrating the depth and range of its global litigation work on human rights and international humanitarian law.
The Ongoing Segregation of Roma Children in the Czech Republic
This report, presented to the European Commission in January 2024, presents new evidence indicating that the Czech Republic's discriminatory treatment of Roma children is in breach of the European Union's Racial Equality Directive.
Q&A: Bringing a Case Before the International Court of Justice for the Rights of Afghan Women and Girls
This paper addresses questions around the feasibility of bringing a complaint at the International Court of Justice against Afghanistan's Taliban for egregious and prevalent violations of women’s and girls’ rights.
International and Regional Standards on Judicial Independence
This research memo identifies and analyzes relevant international and regional standards regarding the independence of the judiciary.
Litigating the Right to a Nationality: A Guide for Practitioners
This guide provides resources for practitioners to develop strategies to use litigation to achieve progress towards the realisation of the right to a nationality for all.
Displacement by Design: Resisting Denmark's Race-based Housing Laws
This report presents stories and photographs of residents of the Mjølnerparken housing development in Copenhagen where hundreds have been forced to leave their homes under the Danish government's so-called "Ghetto Package".
Migrant Rights: a Practical Guide to Litigation and Administrative Action at the EU Level
This guide takes stock of the mechanisms that asylum seekers, (irregular) migrants, and NGOs representing them can use in order to vindicate these rights against European Union institutions and bodies.
2025 Global Litigation Report
This report provides highlights of global litigation work carried out by the Open Society Justice Initiative in 2024—with summaries of major cases in Climate Justice, Gender Persecution, International Justice, and Social Media Platform Accountability that seek to advance Open Society's vision of a world shaped by justice, equity, and rights.
Legal Possibilities of Using Russian Central Bank Assets to Enforce European Court of Human Rights Judgments
Looking at three countries, this report offers a detailed analysis of the applicable laws and procedures to inform potential legal and political actions that could be taken for the relief of victims in Ukraine.
Memorandum for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression Committed Against Ukraine
This Memorandum for Prosecution sets out how Russia’s conduct against Ukraine constitutes the crime of aggression and represents a continuous pattern of unlawful use of force from 2014 until today.
Waikwa Wanyoike
Waikwa Wanyoike is the director of strategic litigation and learning at the Open Society Justice Initiative.
James Goldston
James A. Goldston is the executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative.
Case Watch: UK Supreme Court Provides Gateway for Zambian Farmers and Corporate Accountability
The UK Supreme Court has given poor Zambian claimants the right to sue a global mining behemoth in English courts.
Case Watch: European Court Finds Ethnic Profiling by the Police Discriminatory
For the first time, the European Court of Human Rights has used the consequential phrase “ethnic profiling” in a ruling concerning a police action it considered discriminatory.
Q&A: German Court Demands Greater Scrutiny of U.S. Drone Attacks
For years, Germany has cooperated with the United States’ controversial use of drone strikes. A new court ruling may force the government to reassess.
How Weaponizing Citizenship Hurts the Justice System
No one should have their citizenship revoked as a form of punishment. It’s wrong—and it undermines the rule of law.
Volunteer Lawyers Give New Direction to Nigerian Legal Aid Initiative
In the town of Ikorodu, local lawyers are delivering free legal aid to detainees within 48 hours of arrest and joining an effort to steer people charged with nonviolent crimes away from unnecessary detention.
