Our Mission
The Lawyers and Democratic Decline (LADD) project brings together an international community of scholars investigating the role of lawyers in resisting — and at times enabling — authoritarianism in contexts of democratic backsliding.
Through collaborative research, comparative analysis, and public events, LADD explores how legal professionals navigate repression, uphold democratic norms, and negotiate their professional identity in times of political crisis.
Updates
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Karua sues Uganda over deportation, seeks return to defend Besigye
Kenyan Senior Counsel Martha Karua, a former justice minister of Kenya, has sued the government of Uganda over her deportation and the decision to declare her persona non grata. She is suing…
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Tunisia: Politicized and persecutory: the trial of lawyer Ahmed Souab in Case 12/9749
A legal briefing published on September 30 examines the prosecution of Ahmed Souab, a lawyer and former administrative judge who, after the final hearing in the “Conspiracy Case” in April 2025, publicly…
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Pakistan: End the cycle of detention and judicial harassment of lawyers Imaan Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha
Fifteen organizations, including the International Commission of Jurists, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe, the Law Society of England and Wales and the New York City Bar Association, have…
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Prosecutor Sheri Mecklenburg resigns from DOJ in fiery letter, saying Boutros “personally directed” Broadview Six prosecution
Sheri Mecklenburg, the lead grand jury prosecutor in the federal case against six protesters arrested outside the Broadview ICE facility near Chicago, has retired from the Justice Department under protest. The case…
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Lawyers under pressure in Iran: the right to a defense at risk
On September 25 the convictions of eight lawyers from Gilan province in a joint case before the Revolutionary Court in Rasht were reported, on charges of “propaganda against the system” and insulting…
Upcoming Events
Coming Soon…
