Commission Documents

Our main report, Making the Law Work for Everyone Volume I, was released on 3 June 2008 as part of our global launch event in New York and is available here.

Making the Law Work for Everyone Volume II
Working Group Reports is now available!
June 2008



Download entire Volume II Report [2,379 kb]

 Introduction [111 kb]

 Chapter 1 Access to Justice and the Rule of Law [309 kb]

 Chapter 2 Empowering the Poor Through Property Rights [398 kb]

 Chapter 3 Towards a Global Social Contract:
        Labour Rights for Legal Empowerment of the Poor [425 kb]

 Chapter 4 Business Rights [599 kb]

 Chapter 5 Road Maps for Implementation of Reforms:
        Implementation Strategies, Including Toolkits and Indices [596 kb]

 front cover [81 kb]

 back cover [40 kb]


Outcome Document from the Fifth Commission Meeting
February 2008 -  Click here for summary of proceedings

Summary of Proceedings from the Fourth Commission Meeting July 2007 -  Click here for summary of proceedings

Summary of Proceedings from the Third Commission Meeting January 2007 -  Click here for summary of proceedings

From Concept to Action                                                        Outcome Document from the Second Commission Meeting

June 2006 - During the course of the second full meeting of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor on June 6 - 7th , 2006, Co-Chairs Madeleine Albright and Hernando de Soto, along with Commission Members and the Secretariat, established a concrete plan for how to move Legal Empowerment’s work beyond concept and into action. Working Groups were defined, further regional consultations planned, and a roadmap for the life of Legal Empowerment drawn up.
From Concept to Action

Agreed Principles and Conceptual Framework
Outcome Document from the First Commission Meeting

February 2006 - Following the first full meeting of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor on January 20-21 2006, Co-Chairs Madeleine Albright and Hernando de Soto collaborated closely with the Secretariat to produce this document, which outlines key conceptual issues, next steps and proposed outcomes for Legal Empowerment.  Several Commission Members also contributed substantively to the drafting of this consensus statement.
Agreed Principles and Conceptual Framework

Working Group Scope of Work

WG 1: Access to Justice and Rule of Law
WG 2: Property Rights
WG 3: Labor Rights
WG 4: Legal Mechanisms to Empower Informal Businesses 

Consultation Reports

INDONESIA
November 24-25, 2006          Jakarta, Indonesia
Commissioner Erna Witoelar participated in this national consultation which was hosted by by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHIO).
Indonesia Report

TANZANIA  
November 29-30, 2006          Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Former President of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa and MKURABITA hosted the Legal Empowerment sponsored national consultation in Dar es Salaam. Co-Chair Madeleine Albright took part in the discussions.       East Africa Reports

KENYA   
November 27-28, 2006          Nairobi, Kenya
Legal Empowerment collaborated with UN-Habitat and GROOTS Kenya on a national consultation in Nairobi. Co-Chair Madeleine Albright took part in the discussions.                                                                                East Africa Reports

UGANDA   
November 23-24, 2006          Kampala, Uganda 
Legal Empowerment collaborated with the International Law Institute (ILI-Uganda) and the Uganda Community Based Association for Child Welfare (UCOBAC). Commissioner Hilde F. Johnson took part in the discussions.  
East Africa Reports

EUROPE/CENTRAL ASIA
May 23-24, 2006                  Kiev, Ukraine
The Secretariat collaborated with U.N. Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) on a Regional Consultation held in Kiev on May 23-24, which also provided insights into access to justice and dispute resolution.
 Kiev Report

SOUTH AMERICA

December 11-12, 2006         Sao Paulo, Brazil

 National Seminar in Brazil

April 19, 2006                      Sao Paulo, Brazil
Four panels of national and regional experts discussed the causes and effects of legal, economic and social exclusion, and considered past and present initiatives that have sought to address this exclusion.
Brazil Seminar

Launching Documents

Overview of Informality & Thematic Position Papers

Papers presented to the First Commission Meeting

January 2006 - In preparation for the first meeting of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, the Secretariat drafted an initial  general overview paper, which offers a broad outline of issues that are critical to any discussion of reforms around legal protection. It is neither exhaustive nor definitive. Rather, it offers top-line insights on informality, and its link to poverty, drawn from global reform programs and other research. It also provides context to facilitate and focus the discussion on some of the complex questions Legal Empowerment faces at the outset of its mandate.
Overview Paper

Thematic Position Papers

The Secretariat also invited Commission members and relevant experts to contribute draft position papers on subjects relevant to Legal Empowerment’s goals. Four papers were submitted.
Economic Development, Poverty Reduction, & the Rule of Law
Financial Sector and Credit
Africa Land Rights
Informal Employment

Concept Paper
Launching Governments' Statement

September 2005 - On the 6th of September 2005, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, Canada, Egypt, Guatemala, Tanzania, and the United Kingdom, in co-operation with UNDP and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), launched a proposal calling for the creation of the first international initiative focused specifically on the link between the informal economy and poverty. To do so, they drafted a document broadly outlining the problem of informality and the desired objectives of what has become the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor.
Concept Paper