The Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (HiiL) has, since its inception in 2005, been very active in academic research in the field of Rule-of-Law promotion. The institute has also had a distinct focus on the position of the people at the bottom of the pyramid and their legal position. Examples of initiatives that have been taken include the grant that has been awarded to a research group led by Prof Barendrecht of Tilburg University, who is developing The Hague Model of Access to Justice. The HRoLN is an international and interdisciplinary group of academics, policy-makers, and practitioners. This network of approximately 150 members all share a profound interest in the rule of law and a commitment to promoting it worldwide. HiiL acts as the convener of this network and maintains its web based platform and forum.

With support of UNDP, HiiL along with several Dutch partners, has organized a high-profile seminar in the Peace Palace in The Hague to explore the topics raised in the UNDP report Making the Law Work for Everyone. This one-day event was attended by several European leaders from the NGO community as well as high-level government and diplomatic representations and included presentations from Chairman of the Commission on Legal Empowerment, Secretary Madeleine K. Albright and Commissioner Lloyd Axworthy.

Professor Lucie E. White of Harvard Law Shool

Legal Empowerment through Litigation and Mobilization: A Documentary Project

Professor Lucie White of Harvard Law School, working with her students, will partner with the UNDP to investigate and document cases of legal empowerment of the poor through combining structural litigation and grassroots mobilization.  The project will begin with four examples, in Colombia, India, South Africa, and Ghana, and then potentially expand to other settings.  The project will show how this dual strategy of litigation and mobilization has succeeded in empowering poor people to advocate more effectively for themselves.  The results will be shared with lawyers, activists, and opinion leaders in each nation, as well as posted on the UNDP’s web-site.  The goal is to offer practical knowledge about how poor people’s material security and legal capacity can be enhanced by using this dual strategy across a range of social sectors, such as food distribution, healthcare, housing, education, and income security.

More than four billion people—half the world’s population—live outside the rule of law. Poor people are often confronted with legal systems that are either inaccessible or unaffordable. As a result, they lack the legal means to protect their families, homes, or other possessions. The Open Society Justice Initiative works to advance the law as a positive force to improve people’s lives. As such, legal empowerment—bolstering people’s power to use the law, legal systems, and legal services to protect and advance their rights—is a critical part of the organization’s work. The Justice Initiative uses community-based advocates and paralegals to help promote legal empowerment of the poor. It is expanding its pioneering paralegal effort in Sierra Leone to Ukraine and Indonesia. The project combines education with grassroots tools to provide concrete solutions to instances of injustice. The Justice Initiative is partnering with UNDP, other donors, and development agencies to develop methodologies for replication, undertake rigorous research, document and impact the benefits of these programs, and generate increased political and financial backing by raising awareness of these programs.