The IBA is developing a new website focused on sharing information on best practice in international pro bono work. It will be a user-friendly and versatile site with multiple features to maximise communication between site users.

The site will have a unique and exclusive focus on international and cross-border pro bono work. It will compile relevant materials and presentations from IBA conference sessions as a constantly growing resource library, providing access to information for those who cannot attend and an archive for those who did. This strategic use of technology will allow those engaged in international pro bono work to spread information and share experiences 24 hours a day across the globe.

A training calendar will alert international pro bono practitioners to events that offer information to aid their work. A news archive will collect relevant developments in the field of international pro bono, and store them for later reference as needed. The service will also feature a library which will store important resources, such as papers from IBA conference sessions and materials from other sources. The hope is that, once fully established, the site will encourage dialogue and information-sharing among users via listservs, discussion fora, email alerts, and the ability of site users to contribute to all of the resources linked on the site.

More information will be posted here as the project develops; the site is expected to fully launch in mid-2008.


Overview

The Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee's activities are aimed at fostering the recognition by every country of the principle that access to justice for all is a human right, the attainment of which requires adequate funding by the State and the provision of effective legal aid programmes. This principle was accepted in a resolution adopted by the IBA Council in Madrid on 1 June 1995.

The Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee provides an influential forum for lawyers from diverse legal backgrounds to exchange views and to discuss practical solutions to these problems, including the provision of state-funded and non-governmental legal aid and advice and assistance programmes, the use of public defender systems, voluntary pro-bono legal services by members of the bar, alternative dispute resolution, legal insurance, contingency and conditional fee schemes, and the use of procedural mechanisms such as the class action. Wide-ranging discussion and debate from the floor is encouraged at meetings.

The Committee frequently combines with other Committees to hold joint meetings at IBA Conferences on topics of common interest connected with access to justice in the fields of criminal law, human rights, gender issues, children and the law and public interest litigation.

For more information on the Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee, click here.