Announcement: Launch Event of the Report of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor

The Hague Academic Coalition in partnership with the Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law, Tilburg University, the Institute for Social Studies and the Centre for International Legal Cooperation would hereby like to invite you to attend the European Launch of the Report of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, Making the Law Work for Everyone, on May 25th 2009 in the Legal Capital of the World, The Hague.
The Report was first released on June 3rd, 2008 at the UN Headquarters in New York.  A satellite launch will be held at the Peace Palace in The Hague, where the co-chair of the Commission - former US Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright - will introduce the report.

In contemporary development cooperation discourse, there is a growing awareness that legal empowerment can function as a multiplier in the pursuit of human development and the fight against poverty. If a small farmer in a developing country can register his land tenure, which is subsequently enforced by authorities, he can be freed from feudal practices. In a society that allows freedom of assembly people can establish or join political parties and labour unions. Legal empowerment of the poor in developing countries thus leads to more free and just societies.
During this seminar the report will be launched for an international audience of policy makers, academics and practitioners who work in the fields of rule of law, access to justice and development cooperation. The authors of the report hope to raise public and political awareness about the societal importance of legal infrastructure as an element in human development and good governance. Furthermore, this seminar hopes to explore what The Hague - as the world's legal capital - can contribute to the emerging Legal Empowerment agenda.

Alongside presentations by Secretary Albright, remarks will be delivered by prominent international experts and policy makers in this field.

The launch event which is part of a full-day seminar during which selected experts will debate the role of Legal Empowerment in today's world will commence at 13.30 hrs at the Academy Hall of the Peace Palace on Monday May 25, 2009.
If you would like to attend the public part of this event (which will be held entirely in English), please register your attendance at legalempowerment@hiil.org no later than Monday May 18th.
 
After your initial registration, we will provide you with a more extensive agenda closer to the actual date of the launch event.