Rule of Law / Goal IV

The American Bar Association has four institutional goals; in 1983, the ABA adopted what is now called Goal IV, "to promote the rule of law in the world." The Section has actively contributed to this vital initiative. The Section undertook its first overseas project in 1986 and, in the more than twenty-five years since, the Section has implemented numerous short- and long-term legal capacity-building projects around the world. The Section's rule of law activities are supported by the Section Support Fund through the ABA Fund for Justice and Education, which is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Support our Rule of Law Projects by donating online. The Section's Rule of Law Officer, Jason Matechak, oversees the Section's activities in coordination with the Rule of Law Committee and Section staff. Section members are encouraged to support and participate in the Section's exciting rule of law initiatives.

ABA-UNDP International Legal Resource Center

The ABA-UNDP International Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is the Section’s flagship project. The ILRC was founded in 1999 to enhance access to worldwide pro bono legal expertise for technical assistance projects. The project represents the common commitment of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Section to advocate for good governance and the Rule of Law on a global scale. In the more than ten years since its founding, the ILRC has complemented UNDP’s on-the-ground efforts and worked with country offices in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific, paving the way for attorneys, judges, and law professors from around the world to contribute thousands of pro bono hours. Registration with the ILRC is encouraged for legal professionals of all nations with the knowledge and commitment necessary to advance the rule of law around the globe.

Task Forces and Special Projects

The Section has a variety of Task Forces and Special Projects which are created to focus on specific, current international legal and Rule of Law issues. Task Forces produce programming, listserve communications and discussions, ABA policy recommendations and publications and often collaborate with other bar associations or ABA entities in their work. The Section’s Task Forces and Special Projects include:

International Models Project on Women’s Rights: IMPOWR is an innovative initiative to establish a global collaborative database on women’s rights under law.

Task Force on Haiti: Collaborates to provide pro bono assistance to Haitian and U.S. non-governmental organizations on Dwa Moun (“human rights” in Haitian Creole) as they organize and advocate on behalf of groups of victims in Haiti.

Task Force on Financial Engineering for Economic Development (FEED): Provides resources to countries with emerging markets to assist in creating the framework for functioning capital markets.

Trial Observation Task Force: Reviews requests to dispatch ABA observers to participate in court proceedings involving human rights issues where the legality and integrity of the proceedings may be in question.

Task Force for International Outsourcing: Examining the international outsourcing of legal process with the intention of proposing a Report with Recommendations to the ABA House of Delegates.

International Intellectual Property Rights Advisory Program: Works with the U.S. Department of Commerce to provide free consultations to small businesses on protection of intellectual property rights in various countries.

International Legal Exchange Program / International Bar Leaders’ Delegations

Through the International Legal Exchange Program (ILEX), the Section arranges briefing trips throughout the world, offers legal information sessions and training for foreign lawyers and other professionals, and facilitates entry into the U.S. by foreign attorneys who have been offered training by U.S. law firms.

The annual International Bar Leaders’ Delegations, delegations composed of senior Section leadership visit key legal centers around the world in an effort to strengthen ABA International’s outreach to lawyers’ associations and other groups outside the United States.

Coordination with Bar Associations

The Section works with several bar associations and international legal organizations to facilitate joint programming, publications, policy initiatives and projects. The Section has Cooperating Agreements with several foreign bar associations to facilitate joint projects as well as liaisons to over 130 foreign bar associations, international legal organizations and other ABA entities who are managed by the Section’s Liaison Officer and External Relations Committee.

The Section also works with outside bar associations as exhibitors and cooperating entities of Section seasonal meetings. The Section has developed a Global Bar Association Database which houses contact, meeting, and leadership information for over 700 bar associations around the world.

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International Projects

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Initiatives