Search results
Making Legal Aid Work in Nigeria’s Police Stations
Eighty percent of Nigeria’s prison population is awaiting trial. But young lawyers posted at local police stations are now keeping more people out of unnecessary detention.
Fact Sheet: Improving Pretrial Justice in Africa
Organizations across the region are working to combat excessive pretrial detention. Find out where and how.
Fact Sheet: The Global Campaign for Pretrial Justice
We seek to document what happens when pretrial justice systems fail, and to develop and share cost-effective ways to get them working.
A Move Towards New Standards for Pretrial Justice in Africa
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has taken a significant decision to address policing and pretrial detention issues.
The Global Legal Empowerment Initiative
The UN Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor estimates that four billion people live outside the protection of the law. The Open Society Foundations are working to strengthen and expand access to the law for all.
What a Paralegal in Sierra Leone Needs to Know Grantee Spotlight
How can paralegals help bring legal services to ordinary people in Sierra Leone? The legal empowerment group Timap for Justice has produced a manual.
A Populist Fix is No Solution for Puerto Rico’s Violence
Amid surging violence, the people of Puerto Rico are being asked to take a constitutional right to bail away from those accused of aggravated murder.
Pardons are Not a Solution to Prison Overcrowding
The first half of 2012 brought a bumper crop of prison pardons. But they are not an effective way of managing prison populations.
An Open Letter to the European Commission on Pretrial Detention
The Open Society Justice Initiative has joined 12 other groups in urging the European Commission to come forward with promised proposals to set common minimum standards for pretrial detention across the EU’s member states.
Law Talks: Marion Isobel on Arrest Rights
Marion Isobel of the Open Society Justice Initiative looks at how international legal standards are being used to combat torture, abuse and excessive detention of suspects in police custody.
Case Watch: UN Human Rights Committee Falls Short on Arrest Rights
Europe’s top human rights court has affirmed the importance of early access to legal counsel. But the UN Human Rights Committee has passed up an opportunity to affirm the same high standards globally.
Case Watch: Brazil’s Supreme Court Rules against Blanket Prohibition on Pretrial Release
Brazil’s Supreme Court has overturned a blanket ban that prevented pretrial release pending trial for anyone charged with certain categories of drug crime.
EU Must Fix Flawed Criminal Justice Systems
The Open Society Justice Initiative is calling on the European Council of Ministers and Parliament to develop a strong EU Directive to guarantee the right to early access to legal representation for all people accused or suspected of crimes.
How Malawi Put Access to Justice on the UN’s Agenda
The head of Malawi's Paralegal Advisory Service Institute talks about how an innovative legal aid scheme for pretrial detainees in Malawi sowelaid the groundwork for new global UN guidelines on access to legal advice.
New Legal Aid Law in Sierra Leone Embraces the Role of Paralegals
Sierra Leone's parliament has just enacted one of the most progressive legal aid laws in Africa—with an innovative approach to providing access to justice for all that will reinforce the rule of law in a society still scarred by the brutal civil...
UN Recognizes the Vital Role of Legal Aid
Members of the UN have agreed that properly funded legal aid schemes are not just optional, but should be a basic part of any country's justice system.
The Role of Lawyers and Paralegals in Fighting Pretrial Injustice
A new report from the Open Society Justice Initiative looks at the impact that defense lawyers and paralegals can have when they can reach individuals soon after an arrest.
The Future of the European Court of Human Rights: A View from Ukraine
European governments are discussing the future of the European Court of Human Rights. For Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries, the importance of the court has never been greater.
Improving Pretrial Justice: The Roles of Lawyers and Paralegals
This report looks at the positive impact that early intervention by lawyers and paralegals can have on pretrial justice and provides a guide to the ways in which lawyer and paralegal schemes can be set up.
Protecting Children in Pretrial Detention
Juveniles held in pretrial detention are exceptionally vulnerable to abuse; demanding systems that can make rational decisions about incarceration that protect both the safety of the community and the rights of the child.