Iryna Ievdokymova at the 2011 European Pro Bono Forum

On 16-18 November 2011, Europa Instituut researcher Iryna Ievdokymova took part in the fifth European Pro Bono forum took place in Berlin. Organized by the Global Interest Network for Public Law (PILnet), an international NGO devoted to supporting public interest through the cooperative effort of law firms, NGOs and academia, the forum was aimed at providing new perspectives on the protection of human rights and the role that various stakeholders can play in this process.

Among the topics discussed were the relationship between business and human rights, corporate social responsibility, and the challenges and trends in resolving immigration, discrimination, as well as environmental issues in Europe and beyond.

As was noted by the representatives of NGOs and human rights advocacy groups, not only governments, but increasingly private actors such as corporations violate human rights. Concerns were expressed that it was often difficult for an NGO to find a legal practitioner familiar with the standards of the European Court of Human Rights, and once such a lawyer was found, he might find himself in a ‘David vs. Goliath’ position in litigation against a powerful multinational corporation. The law firm representatives, on the other hand, expressed eagerness to engage in working on human rights issues pro bono, as long as no conflicts of interests are involved. In fact, in 2010 alone law firm took up 254 human rights cases, among them those of asylum seekers, Guantanamo bay detainees, and many more.

How could lawyers help, except engaging in the strategic human rights litigation? In order for the pro bono culture to truly come from the grassroots, an idea was put forward that lawyers should engage with the academia, presenting pro bono opportunities to law school students. It was further suggested that pro bono lawyers should not only serve as a last-instance resort to NGOs, but also engage with them on a regular basis, providing training on basic legal issues to NGO staff. Aside from the involvement of law firms, it was interesting to learn more about how NGOs themselves exchange experiences and share legal resources. European environmental NGOs, for instance, cooperate through an informal network in Brussels, which allows them to learn about the legal issues each organization is facing and efficiently share knowledge and resources.