Publications
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Winter 2006-7
OSI
War criminals enjoying comfortable retirements while their victims are plagued by unaddressed injuries, loss, and anger. Reporters and parents denied public information crucial to fighting corruption or protecting children from illness. Vast numbers of people having no options to defend their rights because of poverty and scarce legal resources.
The examples above contribute to reducing or eliminating access to justice for millions of people around the world. When inadequate and discriminatory legal systems offer few options for resolving disputes fairly, people suffer injustice and their grievances multiply until, sometimes, they reach the breaking point. Violence and chaos replace the rule of law as frustrated victims take the process of administering justice into their own hands.
This Open Society News, the first of a two-part series examining justice issues, focuses on a number of the Open Society Institute’s international efforts to increase access to information and legal systems so conflicts can be resolved peacefully in ways that provide an enduring sense of justice.
The stories in this international edition highlight how OSI and its programs, such as the Open Society Justice Initiative, are working with the international community and local actors to strengthen the rule of law.
Taken as a whole, the individuals and organizations profiled in this edition of Open Society News demonstrate that efforts to make legal systems more accessible strengthen the rule of law by increasing public confidence in its ability to guarantee justice for all.
Contents
Confronting Flawed Justice Worldwide, Aryeh Neier
Stop the Press: Censorship on the Rise in Latin American Democracies, Martha Farmelo
The End of Impunity for Charles Taylor, Chidi Anselm Odinkalu
Citizenship: A Key to Rights and Justice, Julia Harrington
The Death Penalty: Cruel and Unusual, An Interview with Shami Chakrabarti and Bryan Stevenson
Justice Detained: The Impact of Pretrial Detention in Nigeria, Felicitas Aigbogun
European Court Fails to Challenge Discrimination, James Goldston
Three Decades After Two Million Killings, a War Crimes Tribunal Begins Work, Tracey Gurd and Kelly Askin
Standing Up for Justice in Sierra Leone, Vivek Maru
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