Making the Law Work for Everyone
The Open Society Justice Initiative uses the law to promote and defend justice and human rights.
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A Legal Victory in the Drive to End Racist Police Tactics Ethnic Profiling
Mohamad Wa Baile, a Swiss citizen, complained to the European Court of Human Rights that he had been subjected to a discriminatory stop by police in Switzerland. The court ruled in his favor, marking a step forward in the drive to eliminate racially-biased policing in Europe.
French Magistrates Seek Arrest of Syria's Al-Assad and Associates for Chemical Weapons Attacks
Arrest warrants for Al-Assad, his brother, and two other senior officials have been issued after an extensive investigation into chemical weapons attacks on civilians in Douma and Eastern Ghouta in August 2013 that killed more than 1,000 people.
Q&A: Bringing a Case Before the International Court of Justice for the Rights of Afghan Women and Girls
This paper considers 21 questions around the feasibility of bringing a complaint at the International Court of Justice against Afghanistan's Taliban for egregious and prevalent violations of women’s and girls’ rights.
Justice Initiative Urges Expansive Rights Framework for Climate Displacement
As the Inter-American Court of Human Rights develops an Advisory Opinion on the climate emergency that will shape policy across the region, the Justice Initiative has submitted recommendations focused on rights and human mobility.
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Since 2003, Justice Initiative lawyers have represented scores of individuals before domestic and international courts, in cases that have sought not only to vindicate individual claims, but to establish and strengthen the law’s protection for all.
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News
European Court of Human Rights Condemns Racist Policing
The European Court of Human Rights has found that police in the Swiss city of Zurich engaged in ethnic profiling, in an identity check stop carried out on Mohamed Wa Baile, a Swiss citizen, at the city’s’ train station in 2015.
Belgian Court Refers Saudi Victim Standing Issue to CJEU
A court in Belgium is asking the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to clarify the scope of EU legislation on the rights of crime victims—in connection with a complaint accusing officials of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of crimes against humanity.
Justice Initiative Urges Expansive Rights Framework for Climate Displacement
As the Inter-American Court of Human Rights develops an Advisory Opinion on the climate emergency that will shape policy across the region, the Justice Initiative has submitted recommendations focused on rights and human mobility.