Many Roads to Justice: The Law Related Work of Ford ... - UNDP

4 4 CA S E ST U D I E S3 . A multifaceted legal services strategy, through whichl a w y e r s ’ groups have worked with other NGOs, CBOs,mass movements, unions, media, and other civil societyforces, has proven successful in South Africa on a numberof levels. These included building nonlawyers’ l e g a lknowledge and skills; basic service delivery by lawyersand paralegals; identification of widespread problems thatcan be addressed through test case litigation or other strategies;and, in turn, service delivery geared toward implementationof favorable legislation and appellate victories.4 . Mobilization of private practitioners to file large numbersof individual cases was effective in bringing pressure tobear on prosecutors seeking enforcement of unjust laws.This strategy was employed all too rarely. But whereCALS utilized it against the Group Areas Act, it increasedp r o s e c u t o r s ’ workloads to the point that the governmentabandoned enforcement.5 . Seminars for judges, such as those run by CALS, mayexemplify an avenue for NGOs to expand judicial understandingregarding human rights and other priorities inways that government-organized training often cannot.U n i v e rsity-Based Reform Centers1 . University-based institutes can be crucial havens forreformist forces. In South Africa, they provided institutionalshelters that made it more difficult for the government toquash opposition. They later contributed to framing SouthA f r i c a ’s interim and final constitutions, as well as legislationand other national policies.2 . These institutes also can partner with important org a n i z a-tions or sectors to engage more directly with reformorientedactivism in a multifaceted way. For example, atleast three South African centers have worked with thelabor movement to enhance negotiating skills, pursue litigation,contribute to law reform, and train union personnelregarding work-related legal issues.3 . Reform centers also contributed to the legal struggleagainst apartheid through research that developed data andstrategies for challenging the apartheid regime in its own