Illinois Institute of Technology (www.iit.edu)

Nationbuilding Activities (pbosnia.kentlaw.edu)

Rule of Law

IIT has worked with courts, prosecutors, bar regulators and bar associations, justice officials and NGOs to reform law and to help set up legal institutions.

  • In Bosnia, IIT connected the Constitutional Court and the Ombudsman to the Internet
  • We assisted the Bosnian Minister of Justice to develop a database to tie the ministries of justice in the cantons to each other and to the Federation Ministry
  • With World Bank support, we developed a plan for effective use of information technology in Albania to make legal information available to legal professionals and to the public
  • We assisted the Macedonian Legal Resource Center at the Law Faculty of the University of Skopje to maintain Macedonian legal information on the Internet, including operating a mirror site in Chicago
  • We deployed a mobile, Internet-connected database to help track refugees and to collect evidence of war crimes
  • We assisted the American Bar Association’s Central and East European Law Initiative to establish a presence in Pristina, Kosovo
  • We helped establish initial international coordination mechanisms to facilitate selection of judges, rewriting of laws, and establishment of legal institutions in Kosovo
  • We conducted workshops for Kosovar prosecutors
  • We assisted criminal defense resource counsel in developing mechanisms for legal research for criminal defense counsel
  • We partnered with the University of Internal Affairs in Ukraine to develop strategic plans for an Internet-infrastructure to facilitate legal dissemination

Civil Society and Humanitarian Aid

We have assisted NGOs and local institutions of civil society, including the press and political parties, to develop their programs and implement them with effective use of information technology

  • We connected the International Media Center in Banja Luka, Bosnia, to the Internet
  • We assisted UNHCR in developing a database to track refugee relief before the NATO bombing campaign in Kosovo
  • We assisted the major political parties in Kosovo develop their programs relating to private-sector economic development

Economic Development

We have assisted entrepreneurs, economic development officials, investors and business service entities develop plans for privatization and for establishing the financial services institutions necessary for small and medium enterprise formation.

  • We developed recommendations and provided other technical assistance to the Ministry of Reconstruction and Development in the interim government of Kosovo
  • We provided technical assistance to the Kosovo telecommunications company, PTK, on cell phone and Internet service planning
  • We provided technical assistance to Kosovo Chamber of Commerce and Ministry of Trade and Industry in developing plans for a small business assistance clinic and promotion of investment opportunities in Kosovo
  • We assisted the U.N. Mission in Kosovo and Kosovo Trust Agency in developing legal concepts for privatization consistent with international law
  • As a subcontractor for the USAID Capital Markets Development Project in Egypt, we:

¾    Conducted a comprehensive educational needs assessment and developed educational programs for employees of the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) and the MISR Clearing and Settlement Depository (MCSD).

¾    Created and provided “train the trainer” programs for broker/dealers and stock exchange personnel.

¾    Structured a comprehensive training department and educational program development procedures for the MCSD.

¾    Designed a range of educational courses and programs for MCSD staff and associated market participants (“bookkeepers”/brokers, banks/financial institutions, traders).

¾    Collaborated with Capital Markets Development team to structure a “guaranteed settlement fund” for MSCD to control counter party default.

¾    Customized and instituted “best practices” for MCSD operations.

¾    Assisted in establishing MCSD market participant fee structure.

¾    Assisted in structuring budget and financial policies for MCSD.

  • In Ukraine and Poland, we are working with universities, government ministries and bar groups to improve anti-corruption efforts aimed at the corporate sector

Education

We have assisted universities in modernizing curriculum, recruiting faculty, developing infrastructure, and recruiting faculty and students

  • In partnership with the University of Pristina Law Faculty in Kosovo, we developed and implemented plans for practical, practice-oriented legal education, including 20 “externships” which involved Kosovar law students working in Kosovar legal institutions while they are in law school
  • We brought 30 high school students to Chicago for a summer of instruction in computer science, entrepreneurship, and law and democracy