Projects
Current
ILF-Nepal
The ILF has had a program in Nepal since July 2007. While a number of local NGOs are providing legal aid services, most focus on oppressed groups and criminal defense remains timid. Lawyers are very reluctant to challenge established practices that often result in arbitrary pretrial and pre-verdict detentions. Without proactive defense lawyers asking the courts to apply and abide by new and existing rules there can be no change. A joint committee of the Nepal Bar Association and the Judiciary Committee issued a recent report concluding that "the interim political period in Nepal has seriously affected the judiciary and the court system. More...
ILF-Afghanistan
The ILF has established a country-wide public defender system in Afghanistan, known as ILF-Afghanistan. ILF-A opened its first full-time office in 2003 in Kabul, with two Afghan lawyers and a $30,000 grant from the Open Society Institute. From 2003 to 2007, ILF-A sent volunteer lawyers from the UK, US and Canada to mentor Afghan lawyers and expand the project throughout the country. Since opening its Kabul office, ILF-A has been the primary provider of criminal defense services in Afghanistan. More...
Past
Legal Aid Rwanda
Legal Aid Rwanda, founded in 1997, conducted a three-month pilot project during which volunteer North American lawyers went to Rwanda to provide pretrial representation to people accused of genocide. It became rapidly clear that the plea-bargaining provision inserted by the international community into the legislation governing the crimes committed during the genocide was unacceptable within Rwandan culture. More...