Legal Reform

To reform laws is to reform societies. At IDLO, this is something that we have had thirty years to learn. And there are no more important laws than fundamental laws – national Constitutions. One of greatest, the Constitution of the United States of America, has served that nation well for nearly a quarter of a millennium. Constitutions encapsulate a vision. In countries struggling to overcome trauma, as is the case of Kenya; struggling to be reborn, as in Somalia; or struggling to be born at all, as in South Sudan, Constitutions respond to a collective need for unity and renewal.

But Constitutions are also highly technical documents. They set the parameters for law and justice in a given jurisdiction. For this reason, they require legal resources and expertise unavailable in many developing nations. By providing those resources and expertise, IDLO is proud to have assisted several countries through complex constitutional processes.

Hague Setting for Wide-Ranging Rule of Law Debate

The rule of law is emerging as one of the most pressing issues of this century. It is a cornerstone of peace, security, justice and development.

Support the Development of Rules for the New Child Rights Law in Myanmar

Although Myanmar is a Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children in the country still suffer disproportionate risks of early marriage, sexual exploitation, trafficking, neglect and abuse. In order to address these challenges, in 2019, the parliament passed a new Child Rights Law which covers all aspects of a child’s life, including health, education, juvenile justice, children in armed conflict and alternative care arrangements. However, there is still a need to develop rules to guide the law’s implementation.

CSW64 | IDLO at the Commission on the Status of Women

In 2020, the global community will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995).

Fighting corruption in the Bahamas

Corruption is a complex social, political and economic problem which undermines democracy, human rights and governance by weakening state institutions, eroding public confidence and hindering the pathway towards sustainable development. The 2019 Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer found that 80% of citizens of the Bahamas considered corruption in government to be an important issue.

Commercial Mediation Action Plan in Jordan

In recent years, Jordan has taken steps and demonstrated political will to reform the justice sector and promote mediation and alternative dispute resolution as means not only to reduce court congestion and shorten the litigation process, but also to guarantee transparent and fair trials. Despite the use of mediation for several years, interest in mediation faded, and it is no longer perceived as a reliable mechanism for dispute resolution. There is therefore a strong need to re-establish mediation as an effective dispute resolution mechanism in the country.

IDLO promotes anti-corruption dialogue with students in Montenegro

Students and scholars from 30 countries convened in Igalo, a coastal village in Montenegro, to study, discuss and exchange views on the rule of law at the European Union and Legal Reform Summer School in July 2019.

Enhancing Case-Handling Through Performance-Based Budgeting at Attorney General Office in Indonesia

Indonesia's Attorney-General’s Office (AGO) has identified differences between its methods for measuring the budget it needs to handle cases and the methods used by other bodies, including the Ministry of Finance, the National Planning and Development Agency and the State Audit Board. If the AGO's initial budget needs are not assessed correctly, this could potentially lead to a misjudgment of its budget allocation, its burn rate and expenditure, and its budget performance.

The new Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes in Kyrgyzstan

In recent years, the Kyrgyz Republic has adopted a new Criminal Code and reformed the Criminal Procedure Code with the stated aim to humanize the system of law enforcement in the country. The new Codes were developed by a group of dedicated technical experts that have subsequently supported the development of a training program aimed at building the capacity of all key stakeholders - judges, police, defense lawyers, and prosecutors - on the foundational understanding of the codes.

The rule of law in the Kyrgyz Republic

Until recently, court processes in the Kyrgyz Republic have not been automated. Manual or paper systems still are required and are the norm although automating all processes has started very actively. According the country’s National Target Program for Development of the Judiciary, automated information systems need to be expanded and rolled out to the whole judicial system, not only within all first instance courts, but also second and third instance courts.

Commercial Mediation in Serbia

Serbia has recently implemented several judicial reforms to modernize and improve the regulatory framework for mediation, such as the new Law on Mediation in 2014. By implementing the new legal framework on mediation, the number of registered mediators and of mediation cases in Serbia have both increased. However, the Supreme Court of Cassation still registers an excessive amount of backlogged cases.

Key Initiatives

Evaluation of the project "Supporting Justice Sector and Anti-Corruption Reforms in Ukraine - Phase 1"

As part of IDLO’s continuous commitment to accountability and results-based management, IDLO is pleased to share this Evaluation Brief (summarised evaluation report): “Evaluation of the project "Supporting Justice Sector and Anti-Corruption Reforms in Ukraine - Phase 1”. The evaluation has been conducted by independent evaluation experts, supervised by IDLO’s Evaluation Unit.
Evaluation (Mid-Term) of the project "Strengthening the Criminal Justice Chain in the North of Mali (SCJC)"

As part of IDLO’s continuous commitment to accountability and results-based management, IDLO is pleased to share this Mid-Term Evaluation Brief for the project, “Strengthening the Criminal Justice Chain in the North of Mali (SCJC)”. The evaluation has been conducted by independent evaluation experts, supervised by IDLO’s Evaluation Unit.
Evaluation of the project "Support to Kenyan Constitutional Implementation Process with a Focus on Devolution and Gender Reforms"

As part of IDLO’s continuous commitment to accountability and results-based management, IDLO is pleased to share this Evaluation Brief (summarised evaluation report): “Thematic Evaluation of the International Development Law Organization's (IDLO) Support to the Kenyan Constitution Implementation Process with a Focus on Devol