MAINSTREAM: association fostering multi-disciplinary approach through World Justice Project


The rule of law is 'too big an issue to be the exclusive responsibility of lawyers and judges', the American Bar Association (ABA) president has said.



In an interview with the Gazette during last week's ABA International conference in London, Bill Neukom said the association is 'mainstreaming the rule of law' through its World Justice Project (WJP).



The project is based on the premise that the rule of law is the most effective, long-term antidote to the corruption, violence, poverty, sickness and ignorance that characterise billions of people's lives.



Mr Neukom, who was in-house counsel at Microsoft for almost 25 years before returning to private practice, said: 'We're fostering a multi-disciplinary approach, advancing the rule of law through education, business, engineering, the media, public health, banking and the rest.'



He added that the WJP reached out to the international community through 'multi-disciplinary outreach conferences' held in different parts of the world. In addition to the US, these have now been held in Prague and Singapore, while further meetings are planned for Buenos Aires and Accra, Ghana. 'We've made a start,' he said. 'We're on the second kilometre of a ten-kilometre race.'



The WJP has received donations from a number of foundations and companies, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Neukom Foundation, Intel, General Electric and ViaCom.



Mr Neukom insisted that 'it's an audacious project, but not presumptuous - the WJP is not a programme designed to export an Anglo-American version of the law to the rest of the world'.



The ABA president also said the 413,000-member strong organisation continued to support the L4 - an influential group comprising the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe, the International Bar Association, the Union International des Avocats and the ABA itself. 'We're looking to create a united and more powerful global voice for the legal profession,' Mr Neukom added.



Asked for the biggest issue facing the legal services sector in the US, he replied 'access to justice'. 'Some 80% of people in the US who qualify for a legal service through need can't afford it - and so they don't get it,' he said. 'This extends even to death row, where there are currently 3,000 condemned prisoners without representation.'



Jonathan Rayner