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The ABA established the Rule of Law Initiative (ROLI) in 2007 to consolidate its five overseas rule of law programs, including the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI), which it created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

For more than 30 years, and through our work in more than 100 countries, the ABA ROLI and our partners have sought to strengthen legal institutions, to support legal professionals, to foster respect for human rights and to advance public understanding of the law and of citizen rights.

In collaboration with our in-country partners—including government ministries, judges, lawyers, bar associations, law schools, court administrators, legislatures and civil society organizations—we design programs that are responsive to local needs and that prioritize sustainable solutions to pressing rule of law challenges. We employ rigorous and innovative monitoring and evaluation approaches in assessing the quality and effectiveness of our programs.

ABA ROLI has roughly 500 professional staff working in the United States and abroad, including a cadre of short- and long-term volunteers and legal specialists, who contributed more than $350 million in pro bono legal assistance.