Russian Legal Aid Bill Signed into Law
On 23 November 2011, Russia’s president, Dmitry Medvedev, signed into law a bill entitled On Legal Aid in the Russian Federation, which had been in the works for about two years. The law concerns civil...
View ArticleLegal Empowerment and International Development
Stephen Golub coined the term "legal empowerment" back in 2001 and has been the key promoter of the concept since then. A renowned scholar and international expert in the field of justice and rule of...
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Keeping the Home Fires Burning in China
“When it’s snowing, you should bring coal to the people.” That’s a well-worn expression in China and one I’ve heard many times in Beijing, even when it’s 90 degrees outside. I’ve been reflecting on...
View ArticlePutting the Law into People's Hands: Post-revolutionary Law in the MENA Region
PILnet's Forum on Public Interest Law in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) ended last week in Tunis on an inspiring note. Participants all agreed that law in the MENA region needs to change in a...
View ArticleFinding the Words for Pro Bono in China
How do you translate pro bono in China? That simple question was the theme of a recent conference PILnet sponsored with one of our partners in China, the Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution...
View ArticleAddressing Social Justice: The Pro Bono Challenge in Spain
Madrid is a city of astonishing creativity and optimism, even during hard times. I’m here for PILnet’s 6th annual European Pro Bono Forum, which kicks off this Thursday, 25 October, and already...
View ArticleRussia's Foreign Agents Act Goes Live...What Does It Mean for NGOs?
On the morning of 21 November, the staff of Memorial, one of Russia’s oldest and most respected human-rights organizations, arrived at work to find the words “foreign agent” spray-painted on their...
View ArticleA Passionate Idealist Spurs Realistic Change in China
I am in the offices of the Equity and Justice Initiative (EJI), an NGO based in Shenzhen that advocates for the rights of the mentally disabled across China, and I’m listening to a remarkable...
View ArticleUnlikely Bedfellows? NGOs Partner with Corporate Lawyers for Pro Bono
At first glance human rights NGOs and corporate lawyers don’t have much in common. Take a closer look, though, and you can see a growing partnership emerging between the two. PILnet has helped to lay...
View ArticleBeyond Geopolitics: Realizing International Human Rights Globally
An intense debate has recently arisen about the future of global human rights. All sides seem to be in agreement with the central thesis, proposed by Stephen Hopgood, which is that, to be effective,...
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