Growing a global mission to rebuild shattered countries

Neil Rose on lawyers' efforts to re-establish the rule of law in the world's trouble spots

Grandiose statements about the rule of law may seem like motherhood and apple-pie to lawyers in the UK and other developed nations, but tell that to their counterparts in places such as Kosovo, East Timor and Afghanistan.

As nations such as these come out of conflict, re-establishing the rule of law is seen as a cornerstone of rebuilding their societies, and that is where the International Bar Association (IBA) now comes in.

In conjunction with the American Bar Association, it has formed the International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC).

ILAC draws on the 180 member bars and law societies of the IBA to find lawyers who can go into former war zones and make an initial assessment of the steps needed to reconstruct the administration of justice.

As Mel James, secretary to the Law Society's international human rights committee, explains: 'You are not going to establish stability without first establishing the rule of law.'

Paul Hoddinott, chairman of ILAC's interim board and the IBA's previous executive director, adds that without the rule of law, international peacekeepers cannot leave and there can be no inward investment.

Initial plans were to house ILAC in London, but it failed to gain charitable status.

Thanks to a $200,000 grant from the Swedish government this month, ILAC is to establish headquarters in Stockholm, with local lawyer Christian Ahlund becoming its first director in September.

Mr Ahlund is currently a partner in a six-partner firm in Stockholm.

He splits his time between employment law work and legal development work for international development organisations.

For example, he has worked in Sarajevo for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

'I see ILAC developing as an indispensable complement to peace-keeping and crisis-manage-ment work done by the United Nations and others,' he says.

ILAC's first mission was to East Timor in December 2001 at the invitation of the UN transitional administration and the country's second transitional government.

The brief was to advise on the establishment of a working system of justice following the withdrawal of the Indonesians, who destroyed most of the country's infrastructure at the end of their 25-year occupation.

Mr Hoddinott explains that this project was not how ILAC is expected to operate in the future as it was called into East Timor some time after the assessment of what was needed was made.

Mr Ahlund says the team was pulled together within three weeks and included members who were 'well aware of the cultural and linguistic needs' of the island - a Portuguese colony for 400 years before the Indonesians invaded in 1975.

The team spent six days in East Timor - which last week became fully independent as the UN handed over the reins of power - and included a Portuguese-speaking Indian lawyer, a representative of the Portuguese Bar Association, and a member of Australian Legal Resources International, an organisation promoting democracy.

Mr Ahlunsd, who also joined the mission, says they advised on issues such as restructuring the legal profession, how war crimes trials could be improved, and what laws are needed.

He says it is too early to say how useful ILAC was.

It has encouraged lawyers to volunteer to act as judges, prosecutors and defenders.

Mr Hoddinott says he takes 'some heart' from what has been achieved but concedes that there may have been fewer volunteers than many had hoped.

Ms James says the work in East Timor was not that effective, but she adds: 'I have a great deal of faith in ILAC but they must get themselves organised first.

It is a hell of a job establishing an international organisation.'

The overall goal is to provide a 'road map' to help the many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved in reconstruction projects.

For example, there have been up to 300 NGOs registered as working in Kosovo, while a variety of offers of help in East Timor have been coming from both civil and common law countries.

'All sorts of international organisations come in at different times, making their assessments, working across each other and sometimes even in competition,' Mr Hoddinott explains.

Another problem with this ad hoc approach, says Ms James, 'is a lack of continuity across different countries'.

From Cambodia and Sierra Leone to East Timor, the opportunity to learn lessons has been missed, she argues.

Mr Ahlund says that offering co-ordination has gone down well.

He adds that the backing of the IBA and other major and well-respected bar associations - such as the Arab Lawyers Union - means that 'we have not had difficulties establishing credibility' with NGOs.

In the long term, ILAC could take on more of an ongoing role by co-ordinating the response to its initial assessment of how to rebuild the justice system.

'Heaven knows there's a need for greater co-ordination,' Mr Hoddinott says.

ILAC is also seeking to introduce systems of accountability for those who work on the reconstruction, which lawyers say are lacking at the moment.

Future projects include moving into Afghanistan to help the interim government develop a legal system - which Mr Hoddinott describes as 'a massive task' - and addressing Zimbabwe, where the intimidation of judges has hit the headlines.

There is still much to do but ILAC has generated a great deal of goodwill in a short time.

Mr Hoddinott adds: 'It's a very good response by the world's legal profession to a crying need.'

LINKS: www.ilacinternational.org