Rommel Alim Abitria (Philippines) is working to alleviate several problems found in city jails – slow trials, a lack of inmate programs, and prison congestion – by training inmates to become paralegals. Through training, they can then provide a valuable resource to new inmates lacking knowledge of the criminal justice system by pursuing cases of neglected inmates and acting as liaisons to the authorities. Read More...

Strengthening community justice system for the sustainable peace in Lamjung community

Ram Kumar Bhandari (Nepal) is strengthening the existing Nepalese justice system by researching and identifying the root causes of its most common problems: the community’s lack of understanding of the criminal justice system, the mistreatment of detainees, and a poorly functioning system of courts. Read More...

Justice in Customary Courts

Buhle Angelo Dube (Swaziland) is transferring cases that involve police brutality and corruption from the Swazi National Courts, which don’t allow admission of evidence or legal representation, to the Constitutional courts.  He also aims to amend the Constitution of Swaziland to prohibit ordered canings as part of a sentence.  He hopes to accomplish this by identifying cases of interest from the national courts, challenging the validity these cases on behalf of caned convicts, and working with the media to raise awareness of human rights violations by the police and balanced reporting without fear of retaliation from the government.   Read More...

PEOPLE'S CHOICE WINNER: Improving access to justice for the poor through information communication technology

Patrick Chukwudi Dunkwu (Nigeria) seeks to ensure early legal counsel for indigent criminal defendants by using mobile phones to link lawyers and paralegals with defendants who have been recently arrested or sentenced.  This will prevent the suspect from being unnecessarily detained by the police, taken to court secretly, or taken to prison on remand custody by the court. Read More...

Juvenile Justice

Malik Tahir Iqbal (Pakistan) is addressing the plight of children suffering from physical, mental, and sexual abuse in prison primarily because of an unchecked legal system.  He hopes to implement a system of collecting accurate data from these prisons so that they may effectively implement rehabilitation centers for juveniles and public awareness programs about the juvenile justice system. Read More...

CLEAR Kisumu

Christine John (Kenya) is working to decrease the average time on remand awaiting trial and to afford justice to those most in need of representation in over-crowded Kenyan prisons. Providing legal education to prison populations of four prisons around Kisumu, Kenya will enable prisoners to represent themselves at mentions and bail hearings and to access support and referrals to pro bono lawyers. Read More...

Legal Aid clinic on women abuse and arbitrary detention monitoring

Franck Kamuga (DRC) is setting up a legal aid clinic to assist, monitor, and advocate for women’s rights in police stations in Kinshasa.  Efforts will include a monthly journal publicizing cases of abuse and arbitrary detention to hold police accountable for their actions and a free text messaging service connecting pro bono lawyers with victims as soon as they are detained.  Read More...

Teaching Human Rights

Aziz Tuffi Saliba (Brazil) is educating the public on rule of law and individual rights in some of Brazil's most challenging communities. He will create and distribute multimedia information on citizens' rights to community leaders, defendants and police to strengthen the foundation of Brazil's criminal justice system in low-income neighborhoods. Read More...