INFORMATION: American Bar Association

We just received the following information:

Welcome to the new American Bar Association (ABA) Bar Year!  A new Bar Year may not quite inspire us to reflect on the changes we want or need to make as the regular new year does, but we hope to take a moment to reflect on how far we have come.  The International Legal Resource Center (ILRC) was established over a decade ago based upon the common commitment of the United (UNDP) and the ABA to advocate for democratic governance and the rule of law on a global scale. The ILRC, which is housed within the ABA Section of International Law (ABA International), identifies experts for UNDP requests relating to technical legal assistance projects, knowledge management, and advisory services worldwide.  Over the past decade, the ILRC’s experience has steadily grown in the number, type, and scope of services it provides. Beginning in 2000, when we received just 15 requests from UNDP for technical legal services, the ILRC has now aided over 250 UNDP democratic governance, rule of law and other projects in over 100 countries. Through the identification and recommendation of experts, provision of legal information, legislative assessments, and other specialized services, the ILRC has built a reputation for responsiveness and adherence to the changing needs of field staff working in developing countries.

We issue this e-bulletin highlighting professional development resources from around the world.  Whether you are a senior or a junior expert, continued education is essential to compliment traditional expertise with the changing global environment.  All e-bulletins include a diverse range of trainings and resources centered on the some of the key areas in the field.  Below we have listed a few exciting projects that the ILRC has contributed to this past year; furthermore, we highlight several experts’ experiences with UNDP this past year. 

Examples of ILRC 2013 projects:

• ABA Justice Defenders:
• Participation in a Strategy Session for Lawyers Litigating Case Under the Prevention of Atrocities Act (India)
• Human Rights Trial Observation in Venezuela
• UNDP/Belarus:  Developing Specialized Courts
• UNDP/Belarus: Gender Review of Court System
• UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED): Regional Workshop for Police Officers, Prosecutors, and Judges in South Asia on Effectively Countering Terrorism
• UNDP/Fiji:  Legal Analysis of Fiji’s Mineral Act
• UNDP/HQ: Development of a Report on the State of Provision of Legal Aid in the World
• UNDP/Ghana: Analysis of Legal Aid Bill
• UNDP/Jamaica: HIV/AIDS Legal Assessment Report for Jamaica
• UNODC/ Kyrgyzstan: Strengthening Criminal Justice Capacities of Central Asian Countries to Counter Terrorism in Compliance with the Rule of Law
• UNDP/Jamaica: HIV/Aids Legislation Research
• UNDP/Turkey: Impact Assessment  of the Judicial Reform Process
• UNDP/Uzbekistan: Research on the Development of a One-Stop-Shop (OSS)
• UNDP/Uzbekistan: Review of Law on Transparency (Upcoming)

We strongly encourage you to take advantage of these resources. In closing, the ILRC is always open to new members. Interested junior and senior experts can email Jacqueline Gichinga at Jacqueline.Gichinga@americanbar.org. To learn more about the ILRC, please visit our website at http://ambar.org/ilrc.

Timothy L. Dickinson
Chairman
ILRC Steering Committee