Description: Study Focuses on Police Stops of Minorities in Bulgaria, Hungary and Spain New York, April 19, 2007—The Open Society Justice Initiative today released a new book examining ethnic profiling by police in Europe. Ethnic profiling is a violation of fundamental human rights norms, but this widespread practice is little understood and concrete data are scarce. "I Can Stop and Search Whoever I Want"—Police Stops of Ethnic Minorities in Bulgaria, Hungary and Spain fills major gaps in what is known about ethnic profiling by police—a practice that has not been expressly outlawed by any European government. Using quantitative data as well as interviews with police officers and ... Read on

Description: Timap for Justice Delivers Legal Aid to Rural Poor in Sierra Leone Freetown, Sierra Leone and Washington, DC, October 24, 2006—The groundbreaking non-governmental organization Timap for Justice received a three year, $879,000 grant today from the World Bank to provide justice services in Sierra Leone, one of the world's poorest countries. Timap for Justice, co-founded by the Open Society Justice Initiative and the Sierra Leonean National Forum for Human Rights, is a pioneering organization training and deploying paralegals in the country's rural areas. In a nation with five million people and only 100 lawyers, the need for their services is acute. Timap's paralegals address justice ... Read on

Description: Survey Shows Discrimination and Inconsistency Still Widespread London, 28 September, 2006—A comparative study on access to information in 14 countries finds that transitional democracies outperformed established ones in providing information about government activities. Bulgaria, Romania, Armenia, Mexico, and Peru did better in answering citizens' requests for information than France and Spain. The book, Transparency & Silence, published today by the Open Society Justice Initiative and available online at <"link"> documents how various countries did—or did not—honor the right of access to information. In analyzing over 1,900 requests for ... Read on

Description: Non-Slavs Over Twenty Times More Likely to Be Stopped than Slavs Moscow, 13 June 2006 — A groundbreaking report released today finds that riders on the Moscow Metro who appear non-Slavic are over twenty times more likely to be stopped by police than those who look Slavic. Riders who appear non-Slavic make up less than five percent of all Moscow Metro patrons but account for over half of all people stopped by the Moscow Metro police. The finding is contained in Ethnic Profiling in the Moscow Metro, a new report produced by the Open Society Justice Initiative and JURIX, a Moscow-based constitutional law NGO. "This is the most extreme ethnic profiling ever measured," said James ... Read on

Description: BUENOS AIRES, December 12, 2005 — Indirect censorship and government manipulation of the media is rampant in Argentina, according to a report released today from the Open Society Justice Initiative and the Association for Civil Rights. Buying the News: A Report on Financial and Indirect Censorship in Argentina, exposes the many subtle yet powerful ways in which government officials wield influence over Argentina's media—from the misuse of government advertising to the exertion of private pressure on reporters and editors. Such violations of media independence often go unexposed and unpunished. "The government's efforts to suppress editorial autonomy have had a pervasive chilling ... Read on

Description: NEW BOOK EXAMINES THE GLOBAL COST OF PRETRIAL DETENTION AND EFFORTS TO REFORM AND REDUCE THE PRACTICE WORLDWIDE For Immediate Release April 17, 2008 Contact: Denise Tomasini-Joshi, Justice Initiative, dtomasini-joshi@justiceinitiative.org, +1-212-548-0165 NEW YORK—The Open Society Justice Initiative today released a new publication examining pretrial detention—the practice of jailing criminal suspects, sometimes for years, before trial—and efforts to reform its use. "The excessive use of pretrial detention violates human rights and harms all members of society," said Martin Schönteich, a senior legal officer for the Justice Initiative. ... Read on

Description: The Extraordinary Chambers Thirty years after the Khmer Rouge took power—and following years of negotiations between the UN and the Cambodian government—the Extraordinary Chambers are finally preparing to try the remaining Khmer Rouge leaders. This issue of Justice Initiatives examines the Extraordinary Chambers and the challenges of securing justice for the victims of the Khmer Rouge. Click on the icons on the right to download the full issue or individual articles. CONTENTS Foreword: An Extraordinary Experiment in Transitional Justice James A. Goldston History A "Fair and ... Read on

Description: Ethnic Profiling by Police in Europe Ethnic profiling, the inappropriate use by law enforcement of an individual's ethnic characteristics in identifying criminal suspects, is widespread but under-researched in Europe. Justice Initiatives examines profiling by police in Europe, and explores the methods used in the United States and the United Kingdom to confront it. Click on the icons on the right to download the articles. Contents Foreword: Christopher Stone Introduction Toward a Europe Without Ethnic Profiling James A. Goldston sketches the case against ethnic profiling under European law. ... Read on

Description: Human Rights and Justice Sector Reform in Africa: Contemporary Issues and Responses This issue of Justice Initiatives documents some of the principal challenges to justice sector reform in Africa today, and the varied approaches that interested actors are pursuing in response. Click on the icons on the right to download the articles. Also on the site: <"link"> <"link"> gallery: Refugees on the Senegal ... Read on

Description: Legal Aid Reform and Access to Justice This month, Justice Initiatives looks at legal aid reform from several different perspectives. A major focus of this issue, as of our work, concerns state-provided legal representation for indigent persons charged with crimes. "This month, Justice Initiatives looks at legal aid reform from several different perspectives.A major focus of this issue, as of our work, concerns state-provided legal representation for indigent persons charged with crimes." Full text of this issue of Justice Initiatives in pdf format (250KB) and individual pdf extracts from the publication as links below. Also in html: ... Read on