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Building on the Complementarity Consensus
The Open Society Justice Initiative is proposing steps to the members of the International Criminal Court that would strengthen their ability to try international crimes domestically.
UN Meeting on the Rule of Law was Just Another Day of Talk
When they met in New York, world leaders failed to agree on measurable targets for the Rule of Law. But they did agree it has role to play in the post-2015 development agenda.
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.
Case Digests: UN Human Rights Committee 102nd Session, July 2011
Read summaries of the decisions on admissibility and merits taken by the UN Human Rights Committee at its 102nd session, held in July 2011.
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.
Case Digests: UN Human Rights Committee 100th Session, October 2010
The Open Society Justice Initiative has prepared short summaries of the decisions on admissibility and merits taken by the UN Human Rights Committee at its 100th session, held in October 2010.
Case Digests: UN Committee against Torture, November 2008 and May 2009
Read short summaries of the decisions and views which the UN Committee against Torture took on individual communications at its 41st and 42nd sessions, held respectively in November 2008 and May 2009.
Case Digests: UN Committee against Torture, November 2009 and May 2010
Read short summaries of the decisions and views which the UN Committee against Torture took at its 43rd and 44th sessions, held respectively in November 2009 and May 2010.
International Justice Must Start at Home
When heads of state come to New York for the UN General Assembly in September, they have an opportunity to get serious about serious crimes in talks devoted this year to promoting the rule of law.
The End of Southern Africa’s Regional Human Rights Court?
A shocking decision over the weekend effectively shuttered the Southern African Development Community tribunal.
Legal Empowerment: An Integrated Approach to Justice and Development
This working paper sets out Open Society Foundations’ vision of how legal empowerment can support development and justice by ensuring that the law is not confined to books or courtrooms, but is available to everyone.
It Is Time for a Global Agreement on the Rule of Law
This September the "rule of law at the national and international levels" will be on the agenda at the UN General Assembly. There are sharp international differences over what that title means. But there are also important opportunities to agree...
Q & A: Reform of the European Court of Human Rights
As the 47 members of the Council of Europe, this briefing sets out the background issues for journalists and others in question and answer form.
The Paralegal Effect: A Conversation with Photographer Aubrey Wade
If it happens that you get arrested in Bo, Sierra Leone's bustling second city, chances are you'll wind up at the Central Police Station. If you're lucky, that's where Baindu Koroma will find you.
Three Principles to Strengthen the Rule of Law
World leaders have an opportunity at the United Nations this year to declare that the application of law should be free of the taint of political interest.
Legal Power to the People
A new approach to holding governments accountable to the citizens they are supposed to serve. Call it "legal empowerment."
Pretrial Justice: Ensuring Fair Treatment for the Poor
James A. Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, set out a range of steps needed to ensure fair treatment of the poor by national justice systems during a meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
African Tribunal Reinforces Nationality Rights for Children
The African Union body responsible for protecting children’s rights has urged Kenya to grant citizenship to children of its stateless Nubian minority, in a ruling that marks a victory in the battle against statelessness across the continent and beyond.
Fizi Diary: Finally, Justice For All?
The International Criminal Court tries the most notorious war criminals. But it can only handle a finite number of cases, leaving thousands of crimes unpunished. The Fizi rape trial shows how local courts can fill the void.
Supporting Freedom: Lessons for Washington from Egypt and Pakistan
The Obama Administration has gone out of its way to avoid appearing too insistent in calling on other governments to expand democracy and human rights. Then came Egypt.