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