Conferences
and Seminars
"A Profession Supportive of
Democracy"
Strategy
Summit for the Americas
New York, United States
March 3-5, 2005
The Strategy Summit for the Americas brought together lawyers from
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Spain, and
the United States to assess the progress being made to expand access to
justice, and to further their shared commitment to strengthen the legal
profession's support of democratic government and the rule of law.
The
Strategy Summit for the Americas was designed to provide an opportunity for
leaders of the private bar and activists in pro bono initiatives to come
together to examine what has been accomplished in the past five years, and
to address the question of where the pro bono movement is going in the
next 18 months; in the next five to ten years. Many issues confront us: what
is pro bono's role in enhancing access to justice; what relationships must
be built with the various components in the legal profession - bar
associations, law firms, law schools, public interest NGOs, the judiciary,
and the State; how do we build bridges between the pro bono initiatives and
other justice sector reform efforts; and how do we make pro bono a more
comprehensive initiative.
These concepts were translated
by the Vance Center into an analytical framework called Four Pillars of the Legal Profession.
This framework represents the variety of roles that lawyers should play in a
democratic society; it emphasizes the interconnectedness of the pillars
necessary to achieve rule of law:
-
Access to Justice;
-
Fair and Equitable Judicial
System;
-
Fair and Equitable
Government Policies
-
Ethical Responsibility of
Lawyers
The general objectives of the
conference were to:
-
Reinforce the
accomplishments of the previous three conferences on access to justice and
pro bono;
-
Introduce the Four Pillars
framework as an expanded concept of access to justice;
-
Reflect on the ways in which
the legal profession can marshal its ability to assist in the development
of democratic civil societies; and
-
Attain commitments from the
participants to pursue a series of country-based and regional projects in
each of the pillar area.
Strategy
Summit for the Americas Report
English
Spanish and
Portuguese
Conference materials
Overview
Summit Objectives
Delegates & Invited Guests
Biographies of Delegates & Invited Guests
Summit Program
Outcomes of working groups
Country reports
Argentina
English
Spanish
Spanish (unabridged)
Brazil
English
Spanish
Chile
English
English (unabridged)
Spanish
Colombia
English
Spanish
Mexico
English
Spanish
Peru
English
Spanish
South Africa
English
Spanish
United States
English
Spanish
Innovative Access to Justice Programs
Community Legal
Support Program
Location: Moreno, Argentina
Organization:
Asociación Civil Por La Igualdad Y La Justicia (ACIJ)
English
Spanish
Casas de Justicia
Location: Moreno, Argentina
Organization:
Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el
Crecimiento (CIPPEC)
English
Spanish
Los Andes
Clearinghouse
Location: Bogota, Cali, and Barranquilla, Colombia
Organization:
University of Los Andes Law School
English
Spanish
Consultorio Jurídico
Población
Los Nogales
Location: Santiago, Chile
English
Spanish
Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Program (NELP)
Location: New York, NY
Organization: City Bar Justice
Center
English
Spanish
Balcão de Directos
(Legal
Rights Desk)
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Organization: Viva
Rio
English
Spanish
Children's Project
Location: New York, NY
Organization: Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS)
English
Spanish
Supplementary Reading
United Nations Report "Democracy
in Latin America"
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