<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html><head><title>International Senior Lawyers Project</title></head> <body alink="#000000" link="#000000" vlink="#000000"><center> <table width="700"><tbody><tr><td><a href="index.html"><img style="border: 0px solid ; width: 734px; height: 57px;" alt="" src="islplogo3.jpg"></a><br> <img src="banner-3.jpg" name="slide" border="0" height="163" width="734"><br> <table><tbody><tr><td><font face="Arial" size="1">Volunteer Doug Kramer in Russia </font></td><td width="100"></td><td><font face="Arial" size="1">Volunteer Steve Spronz in South Africa </font></td><td width="37"></td><td><font face="Arial" size="1">Volunteers Mo &amp; Mickey Winograd in South Africa</font></td></tr></tbody></table> </td></tr></tbody></table><table> </table><table width="740"><tbody><tr><td><a href="aboutus.html"><img src="aboutus.jpg" border="0"></a> <a href="programs.html"><img src="programs.jpg" border="0"></a> <a href="partners.html"><img src="partners.jpg" border="0"></a> <a href="volunteer.html"><img src="volunteer.jpg" border="0"></a> <a href="news.html"><img src="news.jpg" border="0"></a> <a href="contactus.html"><img src="contactus.jpg" border="0"></a> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table bgcolor="#bbbaba" width="740"><tbody><tr><td align="left" valign="top"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="French%20Web%20Page-%20A%20Propos%20de%20Nous.html"><img style="border: 0px solid ; height: 19px; width: 147px;" alt="" src="French%20Link%20Button.jpg"></a></div><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><br></span></b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Current Newsletter</span></b><a href="programs.html"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></b></a><br></div><a href="newsletters/2008/Summer%202008%20Final%20Draft-Smaller.pdf"><img style="border: 0px solid ; width: 146px; height: 188px;" alt="" src="current-newsletter2.jpg"></a><br><p> <a href="raq.html"><img src="request-button.jpg" border="0"></a></p><p> <a href="donate.html"><img src="donate-button.jpg" border="0"></a></p><p> <a href="funders.html"><img style="border: 0px solid ; width: 147px; height: 19px;" alt="" src="funders.jpg"></a></p><p> <a href="programs.html"><img src="program-button.jpg" border="0"></a><br> <a href="humanrights.html"><img src="HR-button.jpg" border="0"></a><br> <a href="economic.html"><img src="EC-button.jpg" border="0"></a><br> <a href="justice.html"><img src="AJ-button.jpg" border="0"></a></p><p style="height: 105px;"> <a href="geography.html"><img style="border: 0px solid ; width: 147px; height: 19px;" alt="" src="Where%20We%20Work%20Button.jpg"></a><br> <a href="file:///M:/My%20Documents/Jesse/Website/ISLP%20Web/REE.html"><img src="RE-button.jpg" border="0"></a><br> <a href="SubSaharanAfrica.html"><img src="SA-button.jpg" border="0"></a><br> <a href="india.html"><img style="border: 0px solid ; width: 147px; height: 19px;" alt="" src="Asia-button.jpg"></a><a href="Latin%20America.html"><img style="border: 0px solid ; width: 147px; height: 19px;" alt="" src="Latin%20America.jpg"></a></p><p><a href="2006%20project%20report%203%5B1%5D.12.07.pdf"><img style="border: 0px solid ; width: 147px; height: 18px;" alt="" src="2006project.jpg"></a></p><p><a href="Web%20Issue%202007%20Project%20Report.pdf"><img style="border: 0px solid ; width: 147px; height: 18px;" alt="" src="2007project.jpg"></a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p> </p></td><td align="left" valign="top" width="550"><br> <font face="Arial" size="4"><b><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"> Projects in Russia &amp; Eastern Europe</span> </b></font><p> <font face="Arial" size="2"> </font></p><p align="justify"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">ISLP's commitment to human rights, access to justice and the rule of law is exemplified by the many projects we have undertaken in Central and <st1:place w:st="on">Eastern Europe</st1:place> over the past year. We are very grateful to the Ernst C. Stiefel Foundation <span style="">&nbsp;</span>whose generous support has made much of this work possible. </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;" align="left"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Training Human Rights Lawyers in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Czech</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Republic</st1:placetype></st1:place>:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> The Czech League of Human Rights (LHR) provides legal aid to victims of human rights violations, conducts trainings for other NGOs, undertakes research and lobbies for legislative reforms. Currently, its primary constituencies are the Romani, women who are the victims of domestic violence and discrimination, children and immigrants. Two ISLP volunteers, a senior partner from a Boston firm and a retired judge, worked with LHR for three months in the spring of 2006 on specific cases, the development of a litigation strategy and the development of an organized pro bono initiative in the Czech Republic.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;" align="left"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Enforcing Sexual Harassment Laws in Hungary</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">: Responding to a request from Hungary's Equal Treatment Authority (ETA), a newly formed agency that enforces Hungary's anti-discrimination laws, ISLP volunteers Blair Soyster, a senior partner with US law firm Clifford Chance, and associate Marye Cherry, developed a comprehensive manual addressing applicable issues which was then translated into Hungarian and followed by a 2-day training in April 2006 for the entire ETA staff.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;" align="left"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Assisting the Deputy High Representative of <st1:city w:st="on">Brcko</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Bosnia</st1:country-region>:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> Bill Krisel of the <st1:city w:st="on">Paris</st1:city> office of Proskauer Rose volunteered in the Spring of 2005 to advise the Deputy High Representative of the District of Brcko, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Bosnia</st1:country-region> on constitutional and other issues in connection with proposed changes to the governing structure of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Bosnia</st1:country-region> i <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Herzegovina</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;" align="left"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Assisting Public Defenders Offices: </span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">At the request of the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) veteran public defender and criminal defense lawyer Ed Rucker went to Ukraine in 2006 for seven months with his wife, Susan, as ISLP volunteers to help establish the first public defender offices in that country. ISLP has previously sent volunteers to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Bulgaria</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lithuania</st1:country-region>, and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Mongolia</st1:country-region></st1:place> on similar projects. Ed contributed significantly to the department's overall coordination with local police, prosecutors and government officials, </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">strengthened the offices' operations,<span style=""> helped develop a uniform system of case intake and distribution, and provided strategic advice to the Director of the new office.</span></span></p> <b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC):</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> ERRC, based in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Budapest</st1:city></st1:place>, is a 21-year old NGO that advocates for the rights of the Roma people. In the spring of 2005, ERRC approached ISLP with three types of requests for assistance: research and writing for several cases ERRC was handling in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and elsewhere involving school segregation, forced sterilization and other matters; case management and office technology issues; and capacity building and assistance with respect to the development and prosecution of a highly complex litigations arising out of lead poisoning of Roma refugees relocated to a UN-operated camp on the site of a former lead mine. ISLP has provided volunteers with respect to most of these requests. The law firm of Hogan &amp; Hartson, through both its <st1:city w:st="on">Budapest</st1:city> and <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state> offices, provided brief-writing assistance and case management and technology advice. As well, a highly experienced litigator was sent to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Budapest</st1:city></st1:place> for one week to mentor and advise ERRC staff regarding a specific litigation involving lead poisoning of Roma children and an attorney with extensive civil rights litigation experience spent three weeks with ERRC assisting on the lead case.<br></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;" align="left"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Moscow Media Law &amp; Policy Institute:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> At the request of the Open Society Justice Initiative and Moscow Media Law &amp; Policy Institute, ISLP's Freedom of Expression/Freedom of Information Working Group requested leave to intervene in a freedom of the press case against <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region> before the European Court of Human Rights. Leave to intervene was granted in early June 2005, and ISLP volunteers subsequently wrote the brief on behalf of the Medial Law &amp; Policy Institute. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;" align="left"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Romanian Freedom of Information Laws:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> In June 2005, Romanian legislators requested ISLP's assistance with the reform and harmonization of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Romania</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s freedom of information laws. Two ISLP volunteers, an American and a British lawyer, both of whom are highly experienced in this area, went to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Romania</st1:place></st1:country-region> for meetings with NGOs and parliamentarians. Following these meetings, they and other volunteers reviewed and proposed amendments to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Romania'</st1:place></st1:country-region>s laws. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Substantial crossborder research and analysis was performed for the European Roma Rights Centre and the Open Society Justice Initiative in connection with projects described above. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> </td><td align="left" valign="top" width="50"> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p> </p><center><font face="Arial" size="-2"> islp.org. all rights reserved. copyright 200<span style="font-weight: bold;">8</span></font></center> </center></body></html>