International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

The ICJ’s mission is to promote and protect human rights through the rule of law and the effective and fair administration of justice. To achieve its mission, the ICJ developed a strategic plan focused on four pillars: (1) access to justice for all; (2) accountability for human rights violations; (3) independence of judges and lawyers; and (4) rule of law and international human rights instruments. This two and half year proposal is based on ICJ’s mission and strategic plan. The aim of this plan is to contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights and the rule of law; the ICJ seeks to achieve this aim through the following objectives: i) Enable victims of human rights violations and abuses, including those of the most disadvantaged and marginalized groups, to access justice through effective remedies and reparation; ii) Help bring to justice the perpetrators of human rights violations, in particular gross human rights violations and crimes under international law; iii) Strengthen and protect the independence of judges and lawyers as actors that are able to give effect to objectives i) and ii); and iv) Help develop international human rights law and standards, and support the effectiveness of the mechanisms thereunder, in order to give effect to objectives i) and ii). The ICJ developed a Results-Based Framework (RBF), which includes specific objectives, outcomes, outputs, indicators and related baselines and targets. Objectives have been formulated for each of ICJ’s strategic directions. Outcomes have been defined for each of the ICJ’s main target groups: the legal practitioners and other human rights defenders that use the law to defend human rights; the judiciary and other institutions that implement the legal framework; and the policy and law makers that define the legal framework. The ICJ reviews and adapts its plan through internal monitoring, undertaken on a regular basis at the programmatic level by management (fortnightly meetings of the Management Team, and meetings every six months with the ICJ Executive Committee) and at the institutional level (through annual reports). Monitoring and review are increasingly based on the outcomes and impact of project activities on the ICJ’s strategic objectives.