Criminals could be dealt with in days or hours under plans to introduce "swift and sure justice" and flexible court hours, ministers have revealed.

In Sierra Leone, a group called AdvocAid is taking an innovative approach to helping educate women on their legal rights - by dramatizing issues on television

A Committee of MEPs voted to support European Commission proposals on giving anyone arrested in the EU the right to a lawyer on 11 th of july 2012. The draft measure, as approved by the MEPs on July 10, would give anyone suspected or accused of a criminal offence in the EU the right to talk to a lawyer as soon as possible, and before police questioning starts.

Legal aid and the Olympics Special provision is being made for an anticipated increase in work in the criminal courts because of the Olympics. There will be additional duty solicitors on rotas in affected areas, a relaxation of the evidence requirements for the criminal legal aid means test in so-called “Olymic fast-track cases”, and an LSC hotline for solicitors and the courts.

This paper aims to stimulate debate on the future of the international development architecture and explores how far some of today’s major development agencies are likely to be exposed to the resulting pressures to change course, emulate the disruptors or face irrelevance.

After more than a year of planning, much diplomatic hype, and thousands of attendees, last month’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro produced what one activist called a “failure of epic proportions.”

The basic tenet of a fair trial is that the defendant must understand what he or she is charged with, what the process entails and how they can best defend themselves. We currently breach this important aspect of our legal system in a number of ways.

The judiciary is the third branch of government, equal in importance to the legislature and executive in this country. So why is there such a lack of understanding and research in this country about the judiciary - and why is this dangerous?

The Court has launched the project "Bringing Convention standards closer to home” with the financial support of the Human Rights Trust Fund. 

Rio+20 is a conference about implementation, and an important part of that is making and delivering commitments. All participants at Rio+20 were therefore encouraged to make voluntary commitments to deliver concrete results for sustainable development.