Very often, lawyers feel isolated - and overwhelmed by their responsibility of people’s fundamental freedom. Bringing them together helps build the movement for legal rights in their country and around the world. The global movement for legal rights will be given a kick-start over the coming weeks, as IBJ Asia and Africa Fellows gather for a 10-day Summit in Singapore, where IBJ has recently laid the foundations of the Justice Training Center.

From August 8^th to August 14^th, eight IBJ Country Fellows from Burundi, Cambodia, China, India, Rwanda and Zimbabwe will meet to discuss a path towards their ideal of justice, receive training in criminal defense and learn from each other’s experience. The Fellows will be invited to explore their personal stories, reflect upon their motivations for pursuing a legal career and imagine an ideal justice system in their country, beyond the discouraging circumstances they sometimes face. They will then receive motivational training in legal techniques, including case strategy development and trial advocacy. These sessions will equip the Fellows with the leadership qualities they need to organize the legal community in their countries and achieve their vision for justice. Experienced Singaporean defense attorneys will engage in discussions with the Fellows to share insights about their role in the criminal justice process and their ways to overcome challenges.

Above: Bonding moments between the Fellows and IBJ Staff last year at the Fellows Summit (Photo by Sanjeewa Liyanage)

  The Country Fellows will be joined in their discussions by the eleven 2010 Asia JusticeMakers Fellows from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. The JusticeMakers will give short presentations on their projects, including the challenges they face and their strategies for achieving their project objectives. The intensive, six day event will include cross-disciplinary training in areas including criminal defence skills, leadership, public speaking and negotiation skills, giving them the opportunity to strengthen the skills that will be vital to the success of their projects. Additionally, the JusticeMakers fellows will participate in sessions on fundraising, fostering motivation and harnessing volunteer resources, to arm them with the tools they need to achieve their long-term visions for criminal justice. The JusticeMakers will also be hosted by the International Relations Committee of the Law Society of Singapore, who will lead a discussion on ‘The Work of International Bridges to Justice in Developing Countries’ with the participation of Philip Jeyaretnam, one the 2010 Asia JusticeMakers Competition Judges.

Above: One of the 2010 JusticeMakers, Rasul Jafarov from Azerbaijan (center), holds a press conference to announce the start of his project which aims to educate prisoners on their right to counsel and early release.

August 12^th will mark the official welcome of the 2010 Asia JusticeMakers into IBJ Fellows Community. For the occasion, the Singaporean legal, business and diplomatic community is invited to attend a gala which will be hosted the same evening.

On June 12^th, 2010 about thirty Criminal Defence attorneys gathered in Coimbatore, India to learn about “The Role of Lawyers for Effective Justice.” The following day, the conference was held in Mahe, India where another thirty attorneys participated. These were the fourth and fifth events held by IBJ India after its First International Criminal Defence Training Program in New Delhi. Previously a panel discussion was also held in New Delhi in Sep 2009 and besides two training events held in Pondicherry and Kolkata last year.  Continuing on a path to raise awareness and teach ways to improve the issues affecting lawyers in India, the Coimbatore and Mahe conferences were successful.

Participants at Coimbatore Conference

A diverse group of trainers came to speak to the participants on a variety of topics throughout the day.  Sanjeewa Liyanage, International Bridges to Justice’s Program Director, flew in from Geneva, Switzerland and began the program with an introduction to IBJ, its purpose, goals, past events, and activities.  In a post-training survey, participants said they found this helped them better understand the organization as a whole.

Sanjeewa Liyange, International Program Director IBJ, Geneva speaking at the Mahe Event

After a short tea break, speaker Dr. K. P. Kylasanath Pillai, a Senior Advocate from Supreme Court of India, a recognized face in Kerela amongst Legal Fraternity and Academia, spoke to participants about the importance of cross-examination and how to effectively cross-examine a witness.  During this presentation, a training video from the IBJ Legal Training Resource Center was shown to the participating attorneys. Overall, participants thought this session was the most relevant and useful to their careers and rated it as the best of the sessions. They found Mr. Pillai to be a very motivational speaker.

Dr. K.P. Kylasnath Pillai, Senior Advocate Speaking at Mahe

Following this, Ajay Verma, Fellow IBJ, spoke on the client and lawyer relationship. In particular he gave a step-by-step instruction on how to conduct interviews and spoke on his personal experiences with clients.  Participants felt the information, teaching methods, and materials for this session were very good and effective.

Ajay Verma, Advocate & an IBJ Fellow,spokeon the lawyer-client relationship

After lunch, the conference resumed with a session on defense strategies by Mr. Pillai, who spoke on the various ways to effectively defend your client against the prosecution in trial. Hon’ble Judge K. Uthirapathy, Member Secretary Union Territory of Pondicherry Legal Services Authority, also came to the conference as a Guest Speaker and followed Mr. Pillai with his talk on the “Role of Lawyers in Initiation of Criminal Cases” and ethics and professional responsibility of attorneys. One participant said, “Learning about the professional responsibility and ethics of an attorney is very important these days and I think IBJ did well by presenting this in this conference.” This keynote address by Hon’ble Judge K. Uthirapathy was also inspiring to us; it made us realize how lawyers can be a strong support to the Criminal Justice System. His enthusiasm and passion was reflected by his stories and poise.

Hon’ble Judge K. Uthirapathy speaks at Coimbatore Conference

The final session after another short tea break was a reflection on what was learned and developed during the day’s conference. This Visioning exercise? also focused on what the participants thought should be improved in the Indian justice system and what their future goals are. This encouraged and motivated participants to take what they learned during the training and utilize it effectively in their respective practices.

On the whole, participants left saying they would recommend the training to others because it was interesting and they themselves are very likely to attend another IBJ conference if given the opportunity to do so in the future. Participants came from all regions and age groups– some just started their practice and have only worked on one case, while others had seventeen to twenty years of experience. Most fascinatingly, the participants in Mahe, a small town where there is only one judge who handles all kinds of cases, were particularly unique and diverse, including the president of the Bar Association and paralegals.  This inspired some interesting interaction because the Union Territory of Pondicherry Legal Services Authority (UTPLSA) is the only authority to have started the Paralegal System effectively in their area. The UTPLSA has trained the paralegals, mostly women, to help the fellow women in small matters, andit is said to be working effectively.

In all, the lawyers gathered not only to learn from the trainers, but also to share their own wisdom that they have acquired from a number of years of practice. Their individual input and feedback throughout the conferences added diversity and light to the events. Those less outspoken and more reserved even took initiative by the end of the day and actively participated. The success of such events is vital to the development and education of lawyers in India. With this positivity and drive, IBJ India is conducting our next event; a panel discussion on July 18^th at Kotputli, Rajasthan

Group Pictures of Participants & Trainers at Coimbatore

Group Pictures of Participants & Trainers at Mahe, Union Territory of Puducherry, India

Blog by Anisha Singh, IBJ India Intern

Article 22 of the Constitution: (1) “No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may ne, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice. (2) “Every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of 24 hours of such arrest and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of the magistrate”According to the Indian Constitution, No one can be arrested without being told the reasons for his arrest. If arrested, the person has the right to defend himself by a lawyer of his choice and an arrested citizen has to be brought before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours.During Karen’s visit (IBJ CEO) in India on February 2010, particularly in prisons in Kolkata, violation of the article 22 of the Indian Constitution was noticed. The violation is scandalous and the situation must change quickly. It was seen judicial custody’s of the under trials is being extended by the Magistrates without actually seeing the accused. Though the accused are coming to court lockups from the prison but they are not being produced before the court. During the trial if the lawyer wishes that his/her client’s presence is required then he has to move an application for production of his/her client which is clear violation of the Constitutional Rights.This violation is part of a big challenge for the Legal Services AuthoritiesIn India, under trials constitute 66 % of the jail population (80% in Delhi). The jails are overcrowded as can be seen from the fact that occupancy rates in excess of the capacity of jails is over 36 % in the country, whereas in Delhi, it is 186 % (and 279% in the central jail n.2: Tihar prison).During a recent visit of the Central Prison, Tihar (Largest Prison in South East Asia), one measure looks obvious. IBJ must assist prison authorities to help them to overcome with the problem of the overcrowding prison population. There is urgent need to have a dedicated team of lawyers who can render their services to the poor inmates who can’t afford to engage private lawyers.IBJ can bridge the communication gap between the Jail inmates and the Lawyers who would pursue their cases. And this concept could have a double effect: help prisoners to access to a counsel and fight against overcrowding.This measure could improve the respect of the article 39 A of the Constitution which requires the State to “secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disability”.In order to deliver this constitutional promise, the Indian Parliament enacted, in 1987, the Legal Services Authorities Act (LSAA) which gives an expansive meaning to “legal services’. Categories of persons automatically entitled to legal aid are listed in section 12 of the LSAA. Network of legal aid is set up at the village, district and state level. The two mains objectives of the National Legal Services Authority are the organization of lok adalats and the delivering of free legal aid. A lok adalat is intended to be a mechanism to encourage a consensual resolution of a dispute. Legal aid consists in delivering an attorney at people of weaker sections of the society. Legal Services Authorities after examining the eligibility criteria of an applicant provide him counsel at State expense, pay the required Court Fee in the matter and bear all incidental expenses in connection with the case. The person to whom legal aid is provided is not called upon to spend anything on the litigation once it is supported by a Legal Services Authority. Moreover, Section 304 of the Criminal Procedure code guarantees that “if the accused is not represented by a pleader, and where it appears to the court that accuse has not sufficient means to engage a pleader, the Court shall assign a pleader for his defense at the expense of the state”.But, this double perspective – lok adalaks and legal aid- showed itself ineffective: the combination of 4 factors explains the inability of the LSA to deliver a real speedy legal aid: legal services are poorly unutilized because there is a lack of awareness of the availability of legal aid, a common sense that free service is incompatible with quality service, a lack of lawyers delivered by the LSA and a disinterestedness of lawyers and legal aid administrators in respecting article 22 and 39 A of the Constitution . IBJ Aims to work with the Government and quasi government authorities to assist them to overcome with these challenges. Organizing right awareness campaigns for General Public besides frequent trainings programs for the lawyers who team up to render their services to the poor. By this way the Lawyer would be able to cater effective services to the marginalized section of the society.

The 10th of December is a day of remembrance, remembrance of the victims of human rights abuses. It is also a day to pay tribute to those who have stand up for their rights. Finally the 10th of December is a day of celebration; celebration of all the progress that has been made and celebration of what needs to be accomplished to achieve Rule of Law in every corner of the globe.

On this special occasion, IBJ intends to remind international, national and local communities of its particular approach to human rights - protecting the legal rights of the people who become victims of unchecked justice systems - and renew its commitment to fair justice systems through a series of consciousness-raising activities across its country programs.

IBJ West Bengal Fellow Abhijit Datta is embarking its organization, MASUM (Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha), in a large human rights fair that will be held this coming Thursday at the vicinity of Academy of Fine Arts of Kolkata. Abhijit rallied support from other grassroots civil rights and human rights organizations. Together, they will coordinate exciting awareness-raising activities: an art exhibition will depict pictures of human rights violations; booklets, publications and other materials informing citizens of their legal rights will be widely distributed; public orations - including testimonies of victims of abuses - will be organized throughout the day. Big awareness-raising banners will be displayed at strategic places at the Indo-Bangladesh border, where minority tribes are particularly vulnerable to human rights violations.

Above: Burundian kids hold a poster reading “Burundi moves forward against torture” during the 26th of June rights awareness campaign in Bujumbura (Photo by Nathalie Mohadjer)

Abhijit’s efforts will be echoed by Astère’s, IBJ Burundi Fellow. IBJ Burundi team left yesterday for the North-West province of Cibitoke where a street law campaign will be conducted. The team will be dispatched at strategic places of the city and will engage the local population in constructive discussions about their rights and responsibilities within the justice system. Men, women and children will be put in the situation of being arrested for a petty crime and asked what they think their legal rights are. Eventually, an engaging poster and memo card about their rights at time of arrest will be handed out to them. A round table discussion on alternative sanctions to imprisonment will be conducted the day after. The platform will unite legal practitioners with magistrates, prosecutors, police officers and prison officials and put them on a path towards reforming the justice system.

A similar on-street canvassing advisement of rights campaign will be organized in Cambodia, where IBJ Fellow Ouk Vandeth and the rest of the team will capitalize on the 25 campaigns held throughout 2009 to make sure local population are best approached, engaged and educated about their legal rights in case of arrest.

IBJ-India and Delhi High Court legal service committee (DHCLSC) organized a Panel discussion on 25.9.2009. The topic of the discussion was “Access to Justice: common Hurdles & Challenges”. Senior Police officers from Delhi Police, Standing Counsel (Prosecutions), a Senior Doctor from department of forensic All India institute of Medical Science and renowned Academician participated in the Panel discussion to identify common hurdles and challenges in Access to Justice.

The event was inaugurated by Hon’ble Mr.. Justice Madan B. Lokur, Chairman, DHCLSC. Hon’ble Chairman remarked that DHCLSC & IBJ INDIA has taken this initiative on “Access to Justice: common Hurdles & Challenges” as there are several facet to access to justice which needs to be looked into. The purpose of holding the discussion was to find out some solutions to overcome those hurdles. Hon’ble Chairman, DHCLSC remarked that there is lack of awareness amongst the general public about the existence of institutions which provide free legal aid. There is also lack of awareness about entitlement of legal aid, which keeps it’s real beneficiaries away from it. It was emphasized that there are two important hurdles one is lack of awareness and second is lack of quality. Free legal aid should not be poor legal aid.

Panelist Mr.. Sunil Gupta Principal Law Officer, Central Jail Tihar addressed about the common hurdles which are being faced in case of under trials and convicts lodged in Tihar Jail. Mr.. Gupta informed that Delhi prison is overcrowded, and there are presently 11600 prisoners lodged in the Tihar Jail against its sanctioned capacity of 6200 prisoners. Around two year back the number of prisoners was 14000. Around 83% of the prison population comes from the income start which is less than 4000 per month. To arrange legal aid for such segment of the prisoner is a huge task and legal service committee is doing its their best to meet the expectation. However, the efforts are inadequate because of huge population of such segment. In Delhi, around 35% of the prison population come from outside and it is difficult for them to arrange surety after they have been granted bail by the courts as a result of which they continue to languish in the prison. Those who are unable to furnish surety in such cases, should be released on personal bond if the trial courts find them so fit. Another Hurdle in Access to Justice identified by him was illiteracy. Around 37% of the prison population is illiterate. In Delhi 83% of prison population comprises of under trials.

Dr. Sudhir Gupta, Department of Forensic Medicine AIIMS suggested that it is very important factor in Police investigation how a police officer has conducted the investigation. If he is unaware about the scientific investigation then it may be fatal to the case. Dr. Sudhir Gupta pointed out common problems faced by the IO during investigation of on sexual offences particularly in collection of sample and their perseverance

Sh. Karnail Singh, IPS remarked that everybody whose rights have been violated should have an access to justice. Generally a common man does not know the remedies available to him under the law. Quality and knowledge of IO are the most important factor in the quality of investigation. Sh. Karnail Singh pointed out that inordinate delay in the forensic report causes delay in the trial. Sh. Karnail Singh emphasized that Advocates have a significant role in justice Delivery system. It was suggested that punishment awarded should be reformative in nature. Sh. Karnail Singh expressed his concern on the issue that victim/complainant does not have much say on the entire system. Sh. Singh suggested that computerization of all the agencies involved in criminal justice system is essential part of effective criminal Justice System.

Ms. Mukta Gupta, Standing Counsel (Now sitting Judge of Delhi High Court) emphasized that lack of interaction with the clients is always fatal in the Court Case. An Advocate or Legal Aid Lawyers must do Good Homework before arguing the matter before a court. Inspection of Trial Court Record is always necessary before arguing the matter. She also informed about the guidelines issued by the High Court in sexual offences cases

Prof. S.C. Raina remarked identified that unnecessary adjournments is a curse to the right of the accused. Lack of awareness and Language Barrier is another factor in Access to Justice.

During the interactive discussion with Participants it was identified that low cooperation from the police is also a serious hurdle. Often people are denied of information about their case that is against them and denial in Access to counsel during interrogation is still a major challenge.

The event was concluded with the closing remarks by Secretary, Delhi High Court Legal Service Committee. The session came to an end by vote of thanks delivered by Sh. Ajay Verma, Advocate on behalf of IBJ (INDIA).

The Chief Justice of India gave a ray of hope to nearly .17 Million under trials languishing in jails for years despite being booked for petty offences. Hon’ble Prime Minister, Law Minister and Chief Justice of India unanimously impressed upon that some urgent steps are needed to secure their release as in many cases, their period of detention due to the slow pace of justice delivery system could have actually overshot the sentence that would have been awarded to them in case of conviction. Chief Justice of India said during the conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of All States that every chief judicial magistrate had been instructed by the High Courts to be in touch with jail authorities to find out the number of under trials booked for petty offences. If they had served more than half the sentence that would have been awarded to them in case of conviction at a future date, then they could be “immediately released on a personal bond”, the CJI said, adding that the benefit of plea bargaining would also be available to them.

Hon’ble Prime Minister of India expressing deep concern over under trials said, “Many of them have been in jail for periods longer than they would have served had they been sentenced. This is indeed very disturbing. There have been pronouncements of the high courts and the SC on this issue but still their number in jails continues to be very high.”

In India there are almost 1,500 jails are accommodating 3.5 lakh inmates more than their actual capacity to accommodate 2.5 lakh prisoners. Approximately 70% of the jail population is made up of under trials, which means the number could be pegged at 2.45 lakh. Out of these, according to the Hon’ble CJI, 70% or 1.7 lakh were booked for petty offences.

The conference of Chief Justices and Chief Minister was held in New Delhi in which some crucial resolutions were also passed pertaining to the speedy Justice to under trial. It was resolved that the High Courts will make scientific and rational analysis as regards accumulation of arrears and devise a road-map for itself and jurisdictional courts to arrest arrears of cases taking into account average institution, pendency and disposal of cases and to ensure speedy trial within a reasonable period of time. Further it was resolved that The Chief Justices of the High Courts will expedite the matter with the respective State Governments for the purposes of holding of courts, in jail, of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate/Chief Judicial Magistrate or Metropolitan Magistrate/Judicial Magistrate, wherever possible.The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate/Chief Judicial Magistrate or Metropolitan Magistrate/Judicial Magistrate, shall discharge obligation keeping in view the principles of `Plea Bargaining’ as enshrined in Chapter XXI-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and confessions in petty cases. Advocate provided by the District Legal Services Committee/State Legal Services Authority be also deputed, wherever not deputed, in jail to work in the aid of under-trial prisoners for providing requisite services to them to present their case before the Metropolitan Magistrate of Concern Court, as the case may be.

These positive responses indeed will improve the Justice Delivery System to under trials. A lot needs to be done but certainly an initiative by Hon’ble Chief Justice of India will strengthen the faith of Under trials in Justice Delivery System.

The third session of IBJ’s training programme in Pondicherry India was designed to encourage communication and discussion. The participants were divided into groups of five and asked to identify all the procedural errors they could see in the hypothetical case expertly formulated by trainers Ajay Verma, IBJ Fellow in India and Manohar Raju, San Francisco Public Defender.

Participants identified all the procedural errors they could see, including several innovative ones challenging the mental capacity of the imagined accused. Since all were aware of the judgment in the case of D.K. Basu pinpointing errors such as forced confessions or refusal of legal representation, this came easily to the well prepared participants. As a response to the hypothetical acceptance of the confession given and its effect on the verdict, several participants proposed a series of defenses that could be readily used, and advocated plea bargaining as the future of criminal litigation.

Participants in small groups 

When asked to specify the various trends that daily affect their practices as legal aid lawyers, several common problems raised their heads. Lawyers often face hurdles such as non- cooperating investigating agencies, unavailability of First Information Reports, delays in the procedure, lack of sufficient infrastructure and meager pay that can barely sustain a living.

After this, the groups were asked to state the various goals they hoped to achieve during the course of their practice and identify short term plans to help reach their ultimate goal. While a few lawyers wanted to spread legal awareness and knowledge, increase literacy and empower women, others wanted a more impartial judiciary and an incorruptible police force and to help achieve there goals they sought a more active role from the legislature in the form of stricter laws.

To end on a lighter note, participants were asked to describe the defining moment of their career as a lawyer, most of which included winning the first case or their client being granted bail, and a general sense of camaraderie could be observed. The trainers then asked groups of three to draw a picture of what the legal system should look like in 10 years. With several participants taking up crayons for the first time in years, this brought about the training programme to a successful close with groups coming up with imaginative drawings and catchy slogans.

Particpants share their vision of the legal system in ten years time

Mr. K.Uthirapathy, District Judge and Hon’ble Member Secretary of the Pondicherry Legal Service Authority, addresses the group

The day ended with a thank you from the Hon’ble Member Secretary of UTPLSA and the distribution of certificates and group photos.

Participants receive their certificates at the end of the day

On Friday 19^th June, IBJ India Fellow Ajay Verma and San Francisco Public defender Manohar Raju, along with the Union Territory of Pondicherry Legal Services Authority, conducted a training session for legal aid lawyers in Pondicherry, India. The day-long training began with a welcome by Ajay Verma highlighting the role of IBJ in providing effective representation to every man, woman and child before the court of law.

IBJ India Fellow Ajay Verma introduces the workshop 

The workshop was introduced by Manohar Raju, and began with a video about the use of torture throughout the world. This was followed by an address from Mr. K. Uthirapathy Hon’ble Member Secretary in which he expressed gratitude and hoped that the training would be useful for all members of the bar.

The participating lawyers began by introducing themselves and sharing their expectations for the day, and Session One began with the participants listing some difficulties they faced in criminal defense cases. These included: that facts were not disclosed to the lawyers, unavailability of copies of the case, pressure on counsel as well as judges, lack of infrastructure, stigma being attached to the counsel for the accused, etc.

Session Two began with a clip of the O.J. Simpson trial, to identify effective techniques of criminal defense.

Participants discussing the centrality of early access to counsel

This was followed by a discussion on the importance of early access to counsel, as well as the origin of that right. During this discussion questions the pay defenders receive were raised repeatedly. It was generally agreed that a pay increase would lead to better practice.

The focus of the day was the importance of early access to counsel and the client/lawyer relationship, and this session in Pondicherry marks the third criminal defense training session in India.

On Friday, June 19, IBJ India Fellow Ajay Verma and San Francisco Public Defender Manohar Raju teamed up with the Union Territory of Pondicherry Legal Services Authority (UTPLSA) to produce a successful one-day training session in Pondicherry, India. The training focused on the topics of the importance of early access to counsel and the nature of the lawyer/client relationship.

Over the course of the day, training participants took a practice test to brush up on the fine points of Indian law, developed a legal strategy for defending victims of police torture, and presented their vision of how the criminal justice system could fully protect the rights of accused persons. Among the 45 lawyers present were the President of the Pondicherry Bar Association, a member of the bar council in Tamil Nadu, and the member secretary of the UTPLSA, all of whom expressed their appreciation for the training and urged IBJ to continue with similar events.

The Pondicherry training marks IBJ India’s third criminal defense training session in India, following previous events in West Bengal and New Delhi.

The President of the Pondicherry Bar Association (seated, left) presents his vision for improving criminal defense in India.

The morning began with a session of qigong, hosted by Heim Center curator Eduardo Von Fellenberg, to focus and direct the fellows on the last day of the Summit. Much of the day was intended to aid the fellows in learning about the logistical aspects of IBJ, namely country evaluation, monitoring reports, and the importance of keeping accurate accounting records to secure long-term funders. Before heading off the International Red Cross Museum and the United Nations to celebrate the end of the summit and see some of the sights of Geneva, the Summit closed with a final feedback and brainstorming session, addressing both the challenges faced going forward and the lessons learned from the week.The common thread was the challenge faced by securing sufficient amounts of funds for criminal defense projects in each of the fellow’s countries. Picking up on the tools learned in the fundraising session, led by Pam Calhoun earlier in the week, Rwandan fellow John Bosco Bugingo brainstormed ideas on how to locally fundraise, suggesting the possibility of holding a ‘Give a Dollar for Justice’ radio spot on the local radio programs, whereby the majority of citizens in Rwanda will learn the message of IBJ and give. Burundian fellow Astère Muyango liked this idea, highlighting the importance of the radio in both fundraising and getting out the message of legal rights.The last fellow to speak was Ajay Verma, who commented on his pride in creating a ‘fellow task force,’ comprised of the six fellows present at the Summit this week.  Because of this week, Verma noted, the fellows were able to appreciate and fully understand the challenges, both alike and dissimilar amongst, of their colleagues around the world. With wide support, Verma suggested that the fellows act as a global support group to one another, continuing to be in touch with one another to discuss problems or challenges faced as they soldier on in the name of criminal justice.(Staff and Fellows listen intently to presentations on the last day of the First Annual Fellows Summit held in Geneva)