Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Prepared By:
Jonathan S. Leonard
With Guidance From:
Terra Lawson Remer
In May of 2014
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Comparable Organizations
Accountability Counsel (AC) .........
Earthjustice ....
BACKGROUND
Suma Justeco
Suma Justeco means Global Justice in Esperanto. For decades the creation and
adoption of global justice mechanisms have lagged behind the rapacious expansion of
global resource markets. This lopsided development track has left rural regions of
the global south at the mercy of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) who stand
unchecked by regulation or law. Suma Justeco seeks to pioneer an alternative
systems-change approach: integrating diverse legal and policy strategies to defend
marginalized communities suffering from environmental devastation imposed by
irresponsible extractive industries projects, advocate for peoples displaced by massive
land grabs perpetrated by corrupt governments in collusion with powerful corporate
interests, promote inclusive economic growth policies that generate widely shared
benefits instead of inequality and social exclusion, and oppose catastrophic climate
injustices that are destroying the planet and decimating livelihoods worldwide.
This document seeks to establish the organizational landscape or ecomap into
which Suma Justeco is entering and to provide guidance for those seeking to enter or
understand the field of non-profit environmental law. The following organizations
have been selected and analyzed based on their potential for: partnership, funding,
legal support, networking, and research.
Glossary of Terms
Transnational:
Extending across national boundaries. Suma Justeco focuses on environmental and
social abuses that involve crossing national borders.
Multi National Corporation (MNC):
A corporation that has dramatically exceeded the physical bounds of its home state.
MNCs (especially in the extractive industry sector) are the most common targets of
Suma Justeco.
International Finance Institution (IFI):
Large development banks such as The World Bank, or International Monetary Fund
(IMF). They often finance massive transnational development projects some
leading to environmental and human rights abuses.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA):
An official report detailing the environmental impact of a given development project.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI):
Control or ownership of business enterprise in one country by a company or investor
from a different country.
4
A list of
COMPARABLE
ORGANIZATIONS
several
small
trailblazing
organizations
with
Year of Registration
2009
Primary Office
San Francisco, California, USA
Region of Focus
Anywhere IFI projects exist
Net Assets - 2011
$105,697
Human Resource Capacity
(4) Full time staff
(2) Law fellows
(2) Interns
The AC utilizes the pro-bono services of law firms and law school clinics when pursuing these accountability
mechanisms. The AC also takes a particular interest in womens issues and employs a Strategic Support
campaign which seeks to enhance strong local voices for the purpose of lodging complaints on behalf of their
own communities.
Bank Facing Mechanisms: the AC features a bank advocacy campaign through which it engages in dialogue with
IFIs in order to strengthen accountability practices and the revision of policies.
Potential interactions with Suma Justeco: When the AC discovers a case which is inadequately addressed by IFI
complaint mechanisms or falls outside of ACs operational realm, it can refer the case to another organization
with a different toolkit. ACs afflicted communities could be supported by using Suma Justecos other
accountability mechanisms such as anticorruption laws or social performance requirements .
6
- http://www.ciel.org/CIEL_Our_Work.html
Year of Registration
1989
Primary Office
Washington DC, USA
Satellite Offices
Geneva, Switzerland
Region of Focus
USA
(Sub)Arctic zones
South America
Net Assets - 2013
$987,456
Human Resource Capacity
(18) Staff
(3) Pro bono servicers
(24) Interns & law fellows
Year of Registration
1989
Primary Office
Eugene, Oregon, USA
Region of Focus
Worldwide
Net Assets - 2011
$1,440,474
Human Resource Capacity
(14) Full time staff
(7) Fellows
Potential interactions with Suma Justeco: One of ELAWs six major initiatives is Strengthening Organizations:
ELAW helps advocates launch and strengthen organizations dedicated to pursuing justice and protecting the
environment. Suma Justeco fits this description and could correspond with ELAWs local legal representatives
within this context. These representatives can assist Suma Justeco in launching transnational litigations, or
participating in whichever accountability mechanism is deemed appropriate. For example: if an E-LAW
supported lawyer discovers a bribe from a US registered company to a local government official in relation to a
land-grab or extractive industry project, Suma Justeco could use local attorney assistance to file a case under the
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
8
Year of Registration
1999 - Earthjustice
(1971)- Sierra Club Legal
Defense Fund
Primary Office
San Francisco, California, USA
Satellite Offices
30 offices spread around the
various states of the USA
Region of Focus
USA
Canada (in relation to US)
Mexico (in relation to US)
Net Assets - 2013
$50,701,080
Human Resource Capacity
(93) Attorneys
(201) Staff
Potential interactions with Suma Justeco: The USA has one of the strongest legal frameworks for environmental
protection in the world. If Suma Justeco brings any sort of transnational litigations to US courts, Earthjustice
could be instrumental in assisting SJ lawyers to navigate the legal intricacies of US environmental law and get
accountability from American listed MNCs operating abroad. Suma Justeco could, in return, provide guidance in
the realm of transnational litigation for Earthjustices western hemisphere trans-border development cases.
9
Year of Registration
1995
Primary Office
Washington DC, USA
Satellite Offices
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Lima, Peru
Region of Focus
Latin America
Southeast Asia
Worldwide (Amicus Curiae)
Net Assets - 2013
$6,338,930
Human Resource Capacity
(51) Staff
(14) Co-counsel
Potential interactions with Suma Justeco: The backbone of ERIs transnational litigation effort is the Alien Tort
Statute. Unfortunately the ATS has been rather unsuccessful in winning accountability due to a presumption
against extraterritoriality among other reasons. Suma Justeco seeks to reinforce transnational litigation by
pioneering tactics based outside the ATS, such as conversion claims and SEC filings. Once these new tools are
effectively pioneered by Suma Justeco for use in transnational social/environmental abuse cases, they will be
available for ERI to use as well.
10
Sources of
INNOVATIVE
FUNDING
Method of Funding
General funding pool is made
Pool is distributed to fellows
Eligibility
Being a social innovator
Passing Ashokas review
Noteworthy Mechanisms
Networking opportunities
Living stipend
12
Method of Funding
User made campaign pages
Online donations
Eligibility
Partnership with a 501(c)3
A specific campaign
Noteworthy Mechanisms
Low cost
Highly specific funding
13
Method of Funding
Loans are given via web-lender
Disbursed by field partners
Refunded into Kiva account
Eligibility
Persons from the global south
without access to finance
Noteworthy Mechanisms
Partnership with microfinance
institutions and small businesses
Specific projects - Lender Choice
14
Umbrella
organizations
serve
as
conduits
of
communication
&
cooperation
between
organizations
working
toward
a
common
goal.
An
NGO
support
network
acts
as
a
nexus
for
a
wide
variety
of
actors
and
serves
to
sew
together
field
operations,
promote
dialogue,
and
provide
forums
for
discussion
and
information
sharing.
The
following
support
networks
will
help
Suma
Justeco
to
discover
organizations
it
can
partner
with,
provide
services
to,
or
render
services
from.
15
Issue of Focus
Human rights:
Economic, social, & cultural
Network Structure
Flexible
Supportive
Decentralized
Relevant Specialties
Thematic working groups:
Corporate accountability
Adjudication
The Corporate Accountability Working Group (CAWG) seeks accountability for human rights violations
perpetrated by both governments and corporations. It advocates for the home states of transnational
corporations to fulfill their extra-territorial obligations and regulate the activities of their corporations. CAWG
advocates for corporate accountability standards and builds collective transnational capacity to challenge
systemic patterns of corporate abuse.
The Working Group on Adjudication promotes strategic litigation at the domestic and international levels as an
effective tool to ensure accountability for violations of Economic Social & Cultural Rights (ESCR)
Suma Justeco would fit nicely into a number of ESCR nets working groups, specifically its Corporate
Accountability Watchdog Group (CAWG) and The Working Group on Adjudication. Corporate accountability is
one of the core goals of SJ, and litigation (adjudication) is one of the tools in its toolkit. The Adjudication Working
Group could further Suma Justecos own efforts by identifying cases which are appropriate for the piloting of SJs
innovative transnational litigation strategies.
16
Issues of Focus
Delivering quality legal aid
Community land rights
Environmental law
The right to citizenship
Essential service provision
Network Structure
Open membership
Supportive
Open source content
Relevant Specialties
Legal aid 2.0 program
Namatis community land rights protection program is proactive (seeking to establish land rights) as opposed to
Suma Justeco which is retroactive (seeking redress for abuse of land rights). So, although direct partnership
opportunities on land rights are limited, Namati can provide cases where their land-rights efforts are being
abused by multinational corporations. In such cases, Namatis legal aid 2.0 paralegals could prove valuable local
partners for Suma Justecos law students and pro-bono attorneys seeking to conduct transnational accountability
efforts - especially in the realm of environmental enforcement.
17
PRO BONO
CLEARINGHOUSES
Year of Registration
2004
Issues of Focus
Millenium development goals
Region of Focus
Worldwide
Matchmaking Method
Dev. org. makes a legal request
A4ID shows request to lawyers
Lawyers decide to undertake
Organizational Requirements
Must be approved by A4ID
Must be serving the MGDs
Suma Justeco could potentially become a development partner if A4ID is convinced that SJ is actively pursuing
MDG#7: ensuring environmental sustainability. Once made a development partner, SJ could us the brokerage
service to seek pro-bono support for environmentally damaging transnational justice cases. However, SJ is not a
strictly development organization per se, so its approval is less than certain.
19
Year of Registration
2009
Issues of Focus
Cross jurisdictional collaboration
Region of Focus
India
Matchmaking Method
Member makes a profile
Member posts/reviews offers
Member makes direct contact
Organizational Requirements
Must provide/request the
services of a lawyer/academic
20
Year of Registration
1997
Issue of Focus
Legal justice & human rights
Region of Focus
Hungary
Russia
China
Matchmaking Method
NGOs are screened by PILnet
Legal requests made by NGOs
Partnered lawyers choose a case
PILnet continues to facilitate
Organizational Requirements
Organization must be an NGO
21
LEGAL SUPPORT
Year of Registration
2000
Issues of Focus
Human Rights
Equitable Development
Rule of Law
Primary Office
New York
Other Offices
Paris
London
Legal Capacity (2012)
(96) Law Firm Volunteers
Terms of Service
Client must be serving one of
ISLPs issues of focus (above)
Since ISLP cases need not be strictly environmental in nature, its in a position to provide legal support to SJ for
cases that environmentally oriented pro-bono suppliers would not - cases like land-grabs or mass human
displacements caused by transnational development projects which are not environmentally harmful.
23
Year of Registration
2000
Issues of Focus
Corruption
Civic rights
Land title conflicts
Primary Office
Hartford CT, USA
Legal Capacity
In-house volunteer lawyers
Terms of Service
Must be an NGO
Must pass LWOB application
Must keep contact with LWOB
as facilitators to the partnership
24
Relevant
Many of the finest universities, think tanks, and law clinics have
special research divisions which are highly relevant to the work
of Suma Justeco. The following institutes have been identified
as ideal partners for exploring theoretic legal frameworks and
for the outsourcing of research projects.
25
Location
New York City NY, USA
Relevant Issues of Focus
The global economy
Activities and Projects
Extractive industries
Tea plantations
Relation to Suma Justeco: Because the HRI is specifically addressing human rights from a potentially litigative
angle, it is well suited to provide law students and fresh graduates who are equipped to pursue transnational
accountability cases; including human rights abuses. Suma Justeco can also submit research requests to faculty
and students of the Global Economy initiative on topics and events that relate to Suma Justecos cases.
26
Location
Cambridge MA, USA
Relevant Issues of Focus
Alien Tort Statute (ATS)
Business and human rights
Human rights & environment
Activities and Projects
Amicus curiae briefs
Multi stakeholder initiatives
Pro Bono component: As a condition for graduation, Harvard Law School requires all J.D. students to complete at
least 40 hours of pro bono legal work. The clients represented are: people who cannot afford to pay for legal
services, non-profit organizations as defined under IRS sections 501(c)(3), or marginalized individuals/groups
whose rights are in danger.
Relation to Suma Justeco: the ATS has been one of the primary litigative tools for transnational accountability,
and the IHRC can provide SJ with good counsel as to how this statute is best utilized and where it has proven
ineffective.
Because of its focus on Human Rights/the Environment and its required pro-bono component, Harvard law
school is in an excellent position to provide law students with substantial expertise on issues relating to Suma
Justecos cases. In return, these students will receive both excellent real-world experiences and will fulfill one of
their graduations requirements.
27
Location
New York City NY, USA
Issues of Focus - Investment in:
Extractive industry
Land and agriculture
Law and policy
Activities and Projects
Research
Policy and advisory work
Multi-stakeholder dialogue
Teaching and curriculum devt
Resource and tool development
Potential interaction with Suma Justeco: While it goes about conducting in-depth research on topics such as
complaint mechanisms and contract clauses, CCSI undoubtedly encounters environmental and human rights
violations which it cannot address in a justice-seeking context. It will instead refer these cases to Suma Justeco
while continuing to focus on policy frameworks and other forward facing mechanisms. Suma Justeco can also
utilize The Centers robust research on accountability mechanisms and, in return, provide it with data and
information relating to its cases.
28