Jayanth K. Krishnan. “The Forgotten Lawyer: Donor Aid and Rule of Law Efforts in Our Current Political Moment.” Virginia Journal of International Law 66. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f0a3654a47d231c00ccd14f/t/6a01ecf097374425705bdabd/1778511088976/66.2+Krishnan+%284.19.26%29.pdf

This Article argues that excluding lawyers from externally driven strategies undermines justice systems and weakens states’ ability to meet obligations grounded in international law. International instruments anticipate that states will cultivate competent, independent, and ethically minded lawyers, yet such measures have rarely received sustained support. Comparative insights from Nigeria and Ghana – two major recipients of donor aid – illustrate how models centered on judges and statutes have not led to the building of robust bar associations required to carry legal norms into effective practice. Accordingly, this Article contends that any credible approach to rule-of-law reform must place lawyers at the forefront. Development actors, though not themselves bound by international protocols, wield enormous influence and can determine whether states honor their responsibilities. Effective donor programs should therefore enable governments to form, socialize, regulate, and protect the legal profession. Without a strong and trusted bar, legal commitments cannot take hold, and international obligations undertaken by states will remain unfulfilled.