IFES - Rule of Law - Maintain an independent judiciary, an independent media, and an informed and engaged civil society
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Rule of Law & Anti-Corruption Work
Every citizen of every country deserves the opportunity to live under the Rule of Law, and every country has an obligation to enforce the law fairly and effectively.
The global experience and guiding philosophy of IFES supports the view that an independent judiciary, an independent media, and an informed and engaged civil society are crucial to achieving the Rule of Law. IFES' Rule of Law programs include multidisciplinary initiatives designed to promote more demand for reform as well as best practices in a number of inter-related areas, including judicial independence, judicial enforcement, transparency, accountability, open government, access to information, whistle blowing, coalition building and human rights.
While priorities and strategies vary from country to country, there are certain crosscutting principles that guide all of IFES' Rule of Law initiatives. These include comprehensive functional and formal assessments, strategic program design, coalition building, public-private partnerships, civil society monitoring and engagement, and public and civic education. IFES’ unique approach to programming in this sector incorporates local, national, regional, and global strategies and programs. In addition, IFES offers a practical “how-to” Rule of Law Toolkit and a participatory methodology that promotes international norms, consensus, lessons learned, and strategic, holistic programming.
Featured Rule of Law Projects
IFES’ work in China focuses on promoting judicial transparency and independence at a critical time in the country’s development. In order to meet the growing needs of more than a billion citizens and compete in global markets, China must adopt sweeping changes to its judicial infrastructure including training new judges and addressing the gap in court resources between the urban eastern provinces and the less developed west.
IFES is implementing a project to improve the capacity of the Kosovar judicial system to enforce civil court judgments fairly and effectively under a subcontract from the
Funded by the UNDP’s Programme on Arab Governance and Reform, IFES is working to create analytical frameworks describing the key steps needed to build governing systems grounded in the rule of law and integrity.
In any democratic nation, public defenders play a key role in upholding social equality by guaranteeing all members of the public access to justice. In East Timor, IFES worked with the Public Defenders' Office to improve its ability to fulfill this role. Between 2001 and 2004, IFES' legal specialists helped Timorese public defenders improve essential legal skills, develop managerial and administrative skills, and better defend the rights of their fellow citizens.
News and Materials
IFES News in Brief: Experts and Officials Discuss Sudan's Political Future
IFES.org Feature: Lebanese Parliament Begins Process to Lower Voting Age to 18
Speech/Commentary: Lebanon lowers voting age to 18 years (.pdf)
IFES.org Feature: A Proposal to Amend Parliamentary Election Laws in Tajikistan Reaches Parliament
IFES.org Feature: Financial Disclosure: a Global Issue