Glušac (2020), “Strengthening Ombudspersons in Central and Eastern Europe”
YUCOM used international review to challenge Serbia’s ombudsperson for lacking independence and competence.
YUCOM used international review to challenge Serbia’s ombudsperson for lacking independence and competence.
Rights-based lawyering in post-authoritarian democracies like Nigeria often builds on the foundations of legal activism developed under past authoritarian regimes, highlighting the continuity of legal resistance across political transitions.
Lawyers play a crucial role in upholding judicial independence, as shown in Pakistan’s 2007 movement, where their collective action helped restore a removed chief justice and reinforced the judiciary’s power against executive overreach.
In fragile democracies, lawyers must help build and secure democratic institutions, a role best understood through context-specific analysis rather than abstract ideals.
Despite some lawyers in Taiwan working for social justice, the idea of actively opposing a repressive state is not yet central to the legal profession, though ongoing democratization and legal reforms may enable a more politically engaged role for lawyers in the future.
This article critiques the default assumption that government lawyers share the same ethical duties as private lawyers and proposes a new framework grounded in a democratic understanding of law and justice.
The article argues that lawyers have a professional responsibility to understand and support democracy, not because it is perfect, but because their role is essential to improving and sustaining it.
Pro-democracy advocates consisted of both international organizations and local activists, including lawyers, journalists, and politicians, who worked to challenge authoritarian regimes and promote democratic values.
A proposal that advocates for a more activist and inclusive OAS by using past reform efforts as a blueprint to create a commission integrating civil society and political actors to strengthen democratic regional governance.
This article argues that lawyers can be key agents of democratic backsliding, using legal tools to erode institutions and legitimize autocracy, and calls for reforms to strengthen the profession’s role in defending democracy.