The Association’s eight goal, “to promote the rule of law in the world” is advance by the Section’s international initiatives. The Section’s current Rule of Law Initiatives include:

International IPR Advisory Program

The Section of International Law is working with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy on an International Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Advisory Program that allows American small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) to receive a free, one-hour consultation with an experienced volunteer attorney regarding the protection of its intellectual property rights (IPR) in Brazil, Russia, India, China, Egypt, or Thailand. The program will assist SMEs in the protection of their intellectual property rights, such as trademarks, patents, or copyrights, and to advise them on what to do with any concrete problems that have arisen.

PADCO/SWIFT II

The Support Which Implements Fast Transition II (SWIFT II) program is an Indefinite Quantity Contract from USAID. The purpose of the contract is to enhance the Office of Transition Initiative’s (OTI) quick response capacity and field management. It is designed to support OTI as it responds to countries around the world experiencing significant and rapid political transitions. The ABA is one of many subcontractors to PADCO, Inc. Some activities that the ABA could support include providing expert staff to: assist with administration of justice programs and human rights; develop a code of ethics for parliamentarians; recommend legal reforms that may be essential in creating a post-conflict civil society; organize legal seminars on structures of government, rule of law, transparency, and anti-corruption measures; and assist war crimes tribunals to document, investigate, and prosecute war crimes.

The Rule of Law – International Initiatives Board oversees the Section's Goal VIII activities and implements the Goal VIII Action Plan. The 2007-08 ROL Board Members are:

Steven Hendrix, Rule of Law Officer
Lelia Mooney, Deputy Rule of Law Officer
Joseph Rio, Deputy Rule of Law Officer
Timothy Dickinson
Robert E. Lutz
Carol Maxine Mates

For more information regarding the Section’s Rule of Law projects, please contact Christina Heid, International Projects Director, at heidc@staff.abanet.org or 202-662-1034.

Past Rule of Law Projects

• The Kazakh Advisory Project (2002 - 2003) The Kazakh Advisory Project was sponsored by the Section's Eurasian Committee to organize volunteer legal assistance for the Republic of Kazakhstan. Upon request of Kazakh governmental officials, U.S. lawyers prepared commentaries on draft laws and provided other necessary legal assistance.
• Mozambique Law Initiative (2000) This initiative assisted the Ordem dos Advogados in the development of legal and judicial reform, focused on continuing legal education, commercial law, intellectual property, law firm management, and the role of lawyers in human rights.
• Strengthening the Palestinian Legal Profession Under the Rule of Law (1999 - 2002) In a consortium with AMIDEAST and Brandon Associates, the Section participated in a program to build the Palestinian Bar Association.
• Arab Legal Institute (1998 - 2002) In collaboration with the International Bar Association, the Law Society of England & Wales, the Paris Bar, and the Arab Lawyers Union, the Section sought to develop a framework for technical assistance to aid the Palestinian Authority and other Arab states in developing legal reforms.
• Africa Law and Democracy Project - Africa Judicial Exchange (1998 - 1999) The main objective of this program was to assist in the development of commercial laws and alternative dispute resolution methods in Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
• CITEL - Latin American Telecommunications Regulation Project (1997 - 2002) This project sought to provide technical assistance to the OAS International Telecommunications Commission by developing a standard model for the telecommunications regulations in the Americas.
• Cambodian Law and Democracy Project (1992 - 1998) Funded by USAID, the Section provided assistance to advance the country’s rule of law by advising on draft commercial laws and the Constitution, strengthening the bar association, and establishing a legal research center
• Commercial and Labor Arbitration in Central America (1986 - 1988) With USAID funds, the Section conducted eight workshops on commercial and labor arbitration in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

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