Publication: Improving the Effectiveness of International Lawyers in Rule of Law and Transitional Justice Projects
Improving the Effectiveness of International Lawyers in Rule of Law and Transitional Justice Projects, Lawyers, Conflict & Transition Project, February 2015
Please find attached a report that has just been produced as part of ESRC-funded Lawyers, Conflict and Transition project: www.lawyers
This report examines the issue of effectiveness of rule of law and transitional justice interventions from the perspective of the international lawyers, especially as they work with their national counterparts to achieve their objectives. The paper focuses in particular on the specific knowledge, skills and values through which an international lawyer may be able to optimise their own intercultural effectiveness. In particular, we highlight the desirability of a full factual briefing before starting work in a different country, the need for effective intercultural communication and organisational skills and the importance of adopting a flexible attitude and an understanding of one’s personal and professional limitations.
We will discuss how institutions hiring international lawyers can take also concrete practical steps to improve the success of interventions, by helping their staff and consultants to become more interculturally effective. This includes creating measurable personnel selection criteria for interview, developing more practical pre- departure orientation programmes for the international lawyer once selected, sending staff on intercultural awareness courses, developing benchmarks for ongoing personal evaluation and setting realistic objectives, both in the short- and long-term.
This report is the first in a series. The other reports will focus specifically on our case study jurisdictions (Cambodia, Chile, Israel, Palestine, Tunisia and South Africa); or address universal themes relevant to lawyers in conflict and transition.