Search results
Strategic Litigation Impacts: Torture in Custody
This study looks at how activists in Argentina, Kenya, and Turkey have sought to use the courts to secure remedies for torture victims and survivors, bring those responsible to justice, and enforce and strengthen the law.
Strengthening from Within: Law and Practice in the Selection of Human Rights Judges and Commissioners
This joint report shines a light on the processes that governments use to nominate and select human rights judges and commissioners.
Joint Submission on International Standards for Regulating the Use of Force
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.
With NGOs Under Attack, the European Union Needs an Early Action Plan
The European Union’s commitment to a “sharper and more coherent” effort to support embattled civil society groups around the world requires a bold and structured approach.
Strategic Litigation Impacts: Indigenous Peoples’ Land Rights
This comparative study examines the ways indigenous communities in Malaysia, Paraguay, and Kenya and their advocates are using litigation in an effort to defend their rights and win compensation.
Finding a Way Out of Legal Limbo in the Dominican Republic
Community-based paralegals are helping people of Haitian descent secure the legal identity documents that affirm their citizenship.
Understanding National Progress: A Cross Regional Exchange on Access to Justice
A summary a meeting organized by the Open Society Justice Initiative in Washington, D.C., in October 2016, which focused on developing effective measurements for access to justice.
Independent Experts Assess Candidates for Inter-American Human Rights Commission
The six national nominees competing this June for three vacant positions at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will be assessed by an independent panel of experts.
How Access to Justice Can Stop a Problem from Turning into a Crisis
To shape effective policy, we need to know more about the direct and indirect social and economic costs of unresolved legal problems.
Rights Groups Urge Mexico to Adopt Proposed Advisory Council to Fight Impunity
The Mexican government is being urged to include international as well as Mexican experts in an advisory council that would spearhead the fight against impunity.
Time for Transparency in the Machinery of Global Rights
A drive for transparency over the selection of the next UN Secretary General reflects similar efforts by civil society in the global human rights system.
Legal Access for All: But Who Pays for It?
If the vision of equal access to justice for all is to become a reality, more countries around the world will need a sustainable nationwide system for legal services.
Scaling Up on Legal Empowerment
Basic legal services and advice should be available to all. A new Open Society initiative is trying to make that a reality in nine target countries.
Implementing ECHR Protocol 16 on Advisory Opinions
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.
In Mexico, Many Deaths in Custody but Few Investigations
In Mexico, the problem of deaths in custody―and the failure to investigate them―is particularly acute.
Azerbaijan Challenged Over Deprivation of Citizenship
A leading Azerbaijani journalist and rights defender, Emin Huseynov, is asking the European Court of Human Rights to rule that he has been wrongly stripped of his citizenship.
Joint NGO Submission on Implementation of European Court Judgments
A submission by the Open Society Justice Initiative and other human rights groups to the Council of Europe working party on reform of the European human rights system.
The Application of the “Significant Disadvantage” Criterion by the European Court of Human Rights
An overview of the application by the European Court of Human Rights of the “significant disadvantage” criterion for admissability introduced by Protocol 14 in 2010.
Summary of ECHR Judgments Presented to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
Summaries of 26 judgments of the European Court of Human Rights presented to the ministerial committee that oversees the implementation of the court's rulings.
Shining a Light on the Selection of Mexico’s Supreme Court Judges
Mexico’s top court wields considerable influence, yet the process of selecting and approving its judges remains opaque.
