The Economic and Legal Empowerment panel at the World Justice Forum IV explored how civil society, government, and private actors can work in concert to empower vulnerable and poor citizens through a robust rule of law.
Panelists focused on modern methods of legal empowerment such as government programs that raise awareness of vulnerable citizens’ constitutional rights; safeguards and regulations that ensure access to justice; the right to counsel; and access to formal business and financial mechanisms. The discussion also highlighted innovative solutions to closing the gap between passing a law in the halls of parliament and the reality of that law as experienced by the poor.
Moderator
Zaza Namoradze, Director, Budapest Office, Open Society Justice Initative (Hungary)
Panelists
Yasmin Batliwala, CEO, Advocates for International Development (United Kingdom)
Stephen Golub, Lecturer, School of Law, University of California, Berkeley (USA)
As world-class athletes faced off in the packed, flag-waving arenas of the Paris summer Olympics, another global contest was heating up in an understated hotel conference room some 4,000 miles away.
Beyond the $100,000 in awards at play, a palpable sense of higher stakes permeated the final round of the World Justice Challenge.
CHICAGO (Aug. 1, 2024) – The World Justice Project announced the five winners of the World Justice Challenge 2024 during the “Meeting the Challenge: World Justice Project Convening on Democracy and the Rule of Law” event at the annual conference of the American Bar Association in Chicago. The winning projects all support this year’s theme of The Rule of Law: Foundation of Democracy.
Election violence, disinformation, and authoritarianism threaten democracy around the world. But local rule of law champions are pushing back and breaking through. We're working hard to give them the data, support, and recognition they need to thrive.
How can U.S. bar leaders and lawyers take an active role in addressing the nation’s significant rule of law challenges? That was the topic of a recent 21st Century Lawyer program hosted by the National Conference of Bar Presidents (NCBP) in partnership with the World Justice Project (WJP) Lawyers Defending American Democracy, the Divided Community Project at Ohio State University, and the American Bar Association (ABA).