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Current Projects
The Rule of Law Program works actively with the Institute's other programs as well as other organizations such as the United Nations Development Program in its ongoing work. Current projects of major focus include the following:
Project on Peacekeeping and the Administration of Justice
As noted in the 2000 United Nation's report "Comprehensive Review of the Whole Question of Peacekeeping Operations in All Their Aspects" (also known as the Brahimi report), the United Nations has become increasingly involved in complex peacekeeping operations. These operations require the rapid deployment not only of military forces, but also of missions that incorporate a wide range of civilian expertise needed to render viable the consolidation of peace. Examining the complexity involved in these kinds of operations—which includes such activities as humanitarian assistance, elections and governance, criminal justice, human rights, and military disarmament and demobilization—the report confirms that issues of accountability and law and order are inescapably related to the maintenance of peace in both the short and long term.
As many of the questions raised by the report are crucial to the success of future peacekeeping missions, the United States Institute of Peace in 2001 launched a multi-dimensional collaborative project on the challenge of the administration of local systems of justice in the context of post-conflict peacekeeping and peacebuilding. The Project on Peacekeeping and the Administration of Justice is designed to respond to these questions with respect to the construction of transitional systems of criminal justice in post-conflict territories. This includes cases in which the international community may exercise executive authority in administering the system as well as those cases in which the international community provides technical assistance to local authorities. The goal of the project is to produce both policy guidance and practical tools to aid the planning of future efforts.
Working through a core advisory group and a number of parallel teams focused on various issues, the Project on Peacekeeping and the Administration of Justice is examining the experience of past international operations undertaken in such locations as Cambodia, Haiti, Kosovo, East Timor, Bosnia, and Namibia. Project participants include individuals who have served in these international justice initiatives, legal experts, military officers and civilian police officers with experience in peacekeeping operations, and specialists in human rights, forensics, court administration, case management, and training.
Throughout each element of the project, an important emphasis will be placed not only on how best to install law and order in the context of international peacekeeping, but also on how to accomplish this task in a manner that strengthens local capacity. Where domestic capacity exists and where local judicial officials command respect for their professionalism and objectivity, international missions need to avoid undermining this capacity. The ultimate goal of any peacekeeping mission is a successful departure and transfer of authority to local officials. Determination of which functions should be performed solely by international actors on the post-conflict scene, which should be performed by locals, which jointly, and at what phase of the process each is appropriate, is complicated but crucial. Site visits during the course of the project will seek to evaluate the extent to which previous efforts at capacity-building have or have not been successful, and to determine local attitudes with respect to the international transitional administrations.
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Project on Law of War Training and Resources for Military and Civilian Leaders
The Law of War Training Project examines different programs and models for law of war training for militaries (including national training), governmental bilateral assistance training, and/or participation in international programs. In particular, the project is designed to accomplish three main tasks:
- Creation of a directory of programs and models for law of war training;
- An analysis of the different options for pursuing such training; and
- Development of a basic module for training military personnel in the laws of war.
Overall the goal of the project is to produce a resource that countries can use to determine the most appropriate means for ensuring that their military forces are trained in the laws of war in accordance with the obligations set forth in the Geneva Conventions. The information from this project will help countries seeking to institute or improve law of war training in their own militaries by providing information, contacts, and links to resources about such training worldwide.
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Project on Constitution-Making, Peacebuilding, and National Reconciliation
At the dawn of the 21st century, nations of virtually every region of the world recognize the role of constitutionalism in their own political and legal systems. The recent and dramatic increase in the number of new and transitional nations adopting democratic constitutions attests to the significance of constitution-making to democracy, national reconciliation, and political development. In many countries making the transition from civil war, one of the first tasks undertaken is the drafting of a new constitution. Research has shown that this is a crucial process in outlining the vision of a new society, defining the fundamental principles by which the country will be reorganized, and redistributing power within the country.
Although a variety of projects and publications have focused on the substance of constitutions in response to conflict, surprisingly little work has been done to examine the extent to which the process of creating a constitution can become a vehicle for national dialogue and the consolidation of peace. This process has allowed competing perspectives and claims within the post-war society to be aired and incorporated. To aid in these efforts the Institute created the Project on Constitution-Making, Peacebuilding, and National Reconciliation.
Co-sponsored by the United Nations Development Program, the project's work is largely conducted through the use of an interdisciplinary working group—including experts in comparative constitutionalism, conflict resolution, development, political science, and sociology and members of the donor community involved in assisting post-conflict societies. Case studies will be commissioned by the working group on the constitutional processes of more than 15 countries around the world. At a series of seminars, the working group will then examine these cases, attempting to derive common lessons on the process of constitution-making and national reconciliation.
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Project on New Players in the Implementation and Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law
Despite great recent advances in international humanitarian law, especially as seen in the jurisprudence of the international tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, there remain numerous questions regarding the implementation and enforcement of international humanitarian law. The Project on New Players in the Implementation and Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law examines the changing roles played by various actors in the arena of international humanitarian law. Consisting primarily of a working group and a series of seminars, the project examines issues ranging from clarification of evolving norms to education and training to implementation and enforcement.
In order to further the understanding of what is needed to translate international humanitarian law from academic rules of warfare into more robust and respected norms governing conduct on the ground, each of the seminars will examine one sector of the broad community of individuals and institutions involved in international humanitarian law. Particular emphasis in these seminars will be given to: (1) understanding how that sector contributes or should be contributing to the development and implementation of international humanitarian law, (2) clarifying the relevant norms of international humanitarian law that apply to that sector, (3) analyzing existing obstacles to more effective participation in an overall system for the implementation and enforcement of international humanitarian law, and (4) identifying appropriate responses.
At each seminar, the members of the working group will be joined by key experts and professionals from the particular sector under discussion. Sectors that have been identified by the Institute for examination include: non-state actors, corporations, media, foreign service officers, humanitarian assistance and relief organizations, international economic institutions, domestic courts administering transnational justice, the military, the intelligence community, educational institutions, and the U.S. Congress.
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Project on Palestinian-Israeli Legal Dialogue
At the request of the Israeli and Palestinian ministers of justice, the Rule of Law Program has organized a special initiative on Palestinian-Israeli legal dialogue. The Institute seeks to build professional relationships between the two legal communities and enable them to jointly explore a range of issues—a process they had not been able to start without outside facilitation and that no other international party had undertaken. At roundtables and follow-on working groups in Israel and the Palestinian territories, members of the two legal communities and foreign experts discuss issues affecting the daily interaction of their two systems, and develop proposed solutions to common problems. Over 120 members of the two legal communities have participated to date. Agenda topics include such issues as labor law, traffic accidents, protection of intellectual property rights, and representation in each other's courts. Although the dialogue has been suspended during the recent violence, the institute are exploring ways to reinstate it.
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Project on Rebuilding a Framework for Establishing Security and the Rule of Law in Afghanistan
In November 2001, the Institute convened a roundtable discussion on "Rebuilding Afghanistan: Establishing Security and the Rule of Law." Participants in the discussion included experts on Afghan law and legal traditions; practitioners and specialists on such issues as post-conflict administration of justice, civilian policing, institution—and capacity-building, technical legal assistance programs, the role of peacekeeping forces in the administration of justice, and the investigation and prosecution of terrorism; and members of the non-governmental organization and policy communities. The event was organized in recognition that the process of political transition, reconstruction, and recovery in Afghanistan will involve enormous challenges for the people of Afghanistan and for the international community.
After the conclusion of the event, the Institute compiled a report highlighting the major findings of the conference. To stimulate further dialogue and sharing of information among those interested in the challenge of law and justice in Afghanistan, the Institute has made available online a copy of the full report in both HTML and Adobe PDF formats. Additionally, the Institute has developed a list of discussion questions for consideration and created a special e-mail address (afghanlaw@usip.org) for comments, suggestions on the report, and responses to the discussion questions. (Please be sure in the e-mail to provide your name, organization, and contact information.)
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Project on Transitional Justice
As nations move from repressive regimes to democratic societies, or from war to post-conflict rebuilding, the legacy of past abuses can be a heavy burden. How can an emerging democracy peacefully integrate both the personnel and the victims of the former regime? How can it achieve justice and reconciliation? These difficult questions are faced by many countries today, and the answers can often have profound political, legal, and economic consequences. The program's Transitional Justice project examines these issues in comparative perspective. Elements of the project include:
- Assistance and advice to individuals, organizations, and governments working on transitional justice issues around the globe. The Rule of Law Program to date has responded to requests for materials or assistance on this topic from over 20 countries, including South Africa, Russia, Malawi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Guatemala, and the Czech Republic.
- Ongoing research, consultation, and workshops focused on such issues as a comparative analysis of transitional justice in various nations, compensation of victims, the use of non-criminal sanctions to deal with past abuses, and the relationships between truth commissions, international tribunals, national trials, and amnesty programs. In 1995 the Institute published the first volume of Transitional Justice: How Emerging Democracies Reckon with Former Regimes, edited by Neil J. Kritz, a three-volume set bringing together the collective experience of numerous countries and cultures over the past 50 years.
- Workshops for policymakers to explore and share experiences on transitional justice from around the world. In 2001 and 2002, the Rule of Law Program organized a series of meetings on the special war crimes court and the truth and reconciliation commission being established in Sierra Leone, and on the relationship between the two. The program also in 2000 organized a meeting on justice and reconciliation for several members of Indonesia's cabinet, at which key officials from five other nations discussed their own society's transition and evaluated their respective experiences with the challenge of coming to terms with past abuses.
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For More Information
To obtain more detailed descriptions of these program or for more information about the work of the Rule of Law Program in general, please contact the Rule of Law Program at ruleoflaw@usip.org or (202) 457-1700.
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