Stephen Golub University of California at Berkeley Stephen Golub will discuss the nature of legal empowerment, evidence of its impact, controversies surrounding it, and implications for Danish development assistance. In doing so, he will draw on his research and consulting for the Danish, Dutch, U.K. and U.S. aid programs, as well as for UNDP, the World Bank, the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Institute and many other organizations. Defined by the use of law specifically to benefit disadvantaged populations, legal empowerment enables them (and their representatives and allies) to understand and act on their rights. A key word here is specifically—unlike more general institutional and legal reforms that may trickle down to help the poor and other marginalized groups, legal empowerment focuses on the rights and needs most salient for them. It also prioritizes legal implementation—that is, ensuring that good laws that exist on paper are actually enforced on the ground. What does all of this mean in practice? There is increasing evidence of legal empowerment having impact both within and beyond the justice sector, in terms of helping to reduce poverty, secure the poor’s private sector participation, enhance gender equity and improve governance and service delivery. Date: 12.00 – 1.30 PM, October 13, 2010 Venue: Room 2AB, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Registration: Please send an email to uftstud@um.dk no later than October 11, 2010
