About Us

The Justice Initiative is an Associate Member of Altus.

Globalization of legal norms

A critical phenomenon of our times is the globalization of legal norms. Over the past two decades, international actors have become increasingly involved in the internal affairs of sovereign states through diplomatic engagement, military action, international peacekeeping, and/or efforts to promote legal and institutional reform. As a result, what happens inside national borders is now often a matter of global concern, and law reform assistance has burgeoned.

International law, long considered marginal, is gaining political weight. The decisions of regional and international human rights protection mechanisms are increasingly (though not universally) heeded, and domestic tribunals make more frequent reference to principles of international law to buttress their rulings. A body of international criminal law has emerged through the work of ad hoc post-conflict tribunals. And for the first time in history, a permanent International Criminal Court has come into being to punish the most heinous crimes.

In an effort to encourage and advance these trends, the Open Society Institute (OSI) created the Open Society Justice Initiative. The Justice Initiative is developing strategies for law reform adequate to the challenge of globalization yet rooted in local needs. Its projects seek to shape law reform policy and achieve concrete results through hands-on technical assistance to governments, NGOs, and intergovernmental bodies; litigation and legal assistance; knowledge dissemination and network building among law reform advocates; and advice to donor institutions supporting the rule of law.