Topic: Rule of Law
Excellence, not Politics, should Choose the Judges at the ICC
Nominations and elections of judicial candidates at the International Criminal Court often overlook merit-based considerations in favor of political interests. It's time for reform.
Raising the Bar: Improving the Nomination and Election of Judges to the International Criminal Court
There are currently significant flaws in the way that the member states of the International Criminal Court identify and elect judges to the court, leading to the election of less-qualified candidates, and a bench dominated by a handful of states.
Almost a Decade after his Death, Sergei Magnitsky Gets a Measure of Justice
The ruling from Europe's human rights court validates the underlying rationale for the laws adopted by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and some other countries to impose sanctions on designated individuals implicated in gross human rights abuses.
To Strengthen the Rule of Law, Protect the Independence of Prosecutors
The case of Laura Codruţa Kövesi at the European Court of Human Rights underlines the importance of prosecutorial independence in protecting the rule of law.
Interview: Why the OAS Faces a Credibility Test over its Human Rights Commission
Professor Judith Schönsteiner, a leading Chilean jurist, discusses the challenge facing the Organization of American States: there are more seats available to fill at the Inter-American Human Rights Commission than there are qualified candidates.
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.
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.
International Prosecutors Fought Corruption in Guatemala. Now They’ve Been Ordered Out
The United States is acquiescing in the destruction of one of the few institutions that has shown success in targeting the main causes of Guatemala’s dysfunction.
Hungary’s Anti-NGO Tax Law Violates Free Speech and Freedom of Association
The Venice Commission, Europe’s leading body of legal experts on democracy and the rule of law, has called on Hungary to repeal a 25 percent tax on NGOs working on migration issues.
Using the Courts to Change the World: Insights from Experience
A new report by the Open Society Justice Initiative offers an unprecedented overview of strategic human rights litigation around the world, and offers eight lessons for success.
Legal Analysis: Hungary’s Special Tax on Migration-Related Activities
A summary legal analysis of Hungary’s law imposing a special tax on migration-related activities and financing.
Strategic Litigation Impacts: Insights from Global Experience
Drawing on years of field-based research, this report takes an unprecedented, empirical look at the impacts of strategic human rights litigation.
How International Justice Can Go Local
Over 30 national and regional initiatives have been launched to prosecute mass atrocity crimes since the early 1990s. A comprehensive new survey looks at the lessons learned.
Legal Analysis of Hungary’s Anti-NGO Bill
This briefing paper analyzes legislation passed by the Hungarian parliament that criminalizes efforts by civil society groups to offer support to refugees and migrants.
How Small Data Can Improve Access to Justice for the Poor
Collective data drawn from individual case work can be used to identify what does and doesn’t work in improving access to justice for all.
A Toolkit for Drafting Complaints to the United Nations Human Rights Committee and Committee Against Torture
This manual for human rights activists and lawyers seeks to develop their skills in using litigation as one of the tools to combat torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment and punishment.
Civil Society and the Copenhagen Declaration on Reform of the European Court of Human Rights
Remarks delivered by James A. Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, on the response of civil society to Denmark's proposed reforms of the European Court of Human Rights.
European Union Law and Romanian Draft Law 140/2017 on Associations and Foundations
This briefing paper considers the extent to which a proposed new Romanian law on the management of civil society organizations would violate provisions of European Union law.
How Data Is Helping in the Struggle for the Right to Education in South Africa
Winning a court ruling alone was not enough to ensure that schoolchildren in the impoverished Eastern Cape province of South Africa have decent desks and chairs.
Huseynov v. Azerbaijan
Emin Huseynov, an Azerbaijani journalist, argues that a declaration renouncing his nationality—made under duress—cannot be used by the government to revoke his citizenship.