Page 116 - MASTER COPY LEADERS BOOK 9editedJKK (24)_Neat
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Leaders in Legal Business
Goal IV: Advance the Rule of Law.
International law was the focus of one of the first seven committees established by the Association. From
its inception, the ABA recognized the importance of international law in laying the foundation for what would
become the largest voluntary professional organization in the world. The ABA International Law Committee
eventually became the ABA Section of International Law (SIL) and has focused on its mission: advancing the
rule of law in the world, and enhancing the quality and outreach of the legal profession worldwide.
SIL has been a key player in many important international legal issues throughout its history, including
the relationship between international treaties and the U.S. Constitution, and the creation of institutions like the
Permanent Court of International Justice, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations, and their predecessor
bodies. The SIL was also instrumental in the creation of a number of international bar associations and legal
organizations, including the Inter-American Bar Association, the Inter-Pacific Bar Association, the American
Society of International Law, and the International Bar Association. SIL’s international perspective also led to its
involvement in technical legal assistance projects to advance the rule of law around the world.
Today, SIL has more than 22,000 individual members in more than 90 countries.30 It serves ABA
members, the profession and the public through continuing legal education, publications, dozens of substantive
committees, the International Legal Resource Center (a partnership with the United Nations Development
Programme), outreach to the global legal community, interaction with the U.S. government, policy development,
and advocacy.31 The Section of International Law leadership also led to the creation of the ABA’s Central
European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI)32 and the Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI)33.
The ABA was also the launch pad for the World Justice Project. The rule of law is a necessity for any
civilized society, yet the connection between the rule of law and health, welfare, education, and basic human rights
was not being made outside of the legal community until Bill Neukom became president of the ABA. Neukom
wanted to define the “rule of law” beyond the “then” description of procedural law that it sometimes repeated in
a way that would be universally accepted and cataloged by various cultures. Today, the World Justice Project’s
Rule of Law Index, which measures how the rule of law is experienced in everyday life in 99 countries, is the
most comprehensive index of its kind and the only one to rely solely on primary data.34
Conclusion
Our world grows smaller each day. Few of the ABA’s founders who gathered in Saratoga Springs could
have imagined the scope and implications of the changes in the legal profession, especially those resulting from
the globalization of commerce and law. In fact, few lawyers just 10 years ago could have predicted the issues
facing lawyers today. The Association works tirelessly to understand the changes in the legal profession and the
challenges of the day, while providing resources to help members around the world become better lawyers. The
ABA is the voice of the American legal profession, but it works to strengthen the rule of law worldwide. As
lawyers, we are many, but as a legal profession and an Association, we are one.
30 See AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, ABA SECTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, ABOUT US,
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/international_law/about_us.html (last February 5, 2015).
31 See AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL LEGAL RESOURCE CENTER,
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/international_law/initiatives_awards/international_legal_resource_center.html (last visited February 5, 2015).
32 See AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, CENTRAL EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN LAW INITIATIVE,
http://apps.americanbar.org/legalservices/probono/soc/ceeli.html (last visited February 5, 2015).
33 See AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, RULE OF LAW INITIATIVE, http://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/rule_of_law.html (last visited February 5, 2015).
34 See WORLD JUSTICE PROJECT, RULE OF LAW INDEX, http://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index (last visited February 5, 2015).
109
Goal IV: Advance the Rule of Law.
International law was the focus of one of the first seven committees established by the Association. From
its inception, the ABA recognized the importance of international law in laying the foundation for what would
become the largest voluntary professional organization in the world. The ABA International Law Committee
eventually became the ABA Section of International Law (SIL) and has focused on its mission: advancing the
rule of law in the world, and enhancing the quality and outreach of the legal profession worldwide.
SIL has been a key player in many important international legal issues throughout its history, including
the relationship between international treaties and the U.S. Constitution, and the creation of institutions like the
Permanent Court of International Justice, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations, and their predecessor
bodies. The SIL was also instrumental in the creation of a number of international bar associations and legal
organizations, including the Inter-American Bar Association, the Inter-Pacific Bar Association, the American
Society of International Law, and the International Bar Association. SIL’s international perspective also led to its
involvement in technical legal assistance projects to advance the rule of law around the world.
Today, SIL has more than 22,000 individual members in more than 90 countries.30 It serves ABA
members, the profession and the public through continuing legal education, publications, dozens of substantive
committees, the International Legal Resource Center (a partnership with the United Nations Development
Programme), outreach to the global legal community, interaction with the U.S. government, policy development,
and advocacy.31 The Section of International Law leadership also led to the creation of the ABA’s Central
European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI)32 and the Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI)33.
The ABA was also the launch pad for the World Justice Project. The rule of law is a necessity for any
civilized society, yet the connection between the rule of law and health, welfare, education, and basic human rights
was not being made outside of the legal community until Bill Neukom became president of the ABA. Neukom
wanted to define the “rule of law” beyond the “then” description of procedural law that it sometimes repeated in
a way that would be universally accepted and cataloged by various cultures. Today, the World Justice Project’s
Rule of Law Index, which measures how the rule of law is experienced in everyday life in 99 countries, is the
most comprehensive index of its kind and the only one to rely solely on primary data.34
Conclusion
Our world grows smaller each day. Few of the ABA’s founders who gathered in Saratoga Springs could
have imagined the scope and implications of the changes in the legal profession, especially those resulting from
the globalization of commerce and law. In fact, few lawyers just 10 years ago could have predicted the issues
facing lawyers today. The Association works tirelessly to understand the changes in the legal profession and the
challenges of the day, while providing resources to help members around the world become better lawyers. The
ABA is the voice of the American legal profession, but it works to strengthen the rule of law worldwide. As
lawyers, we are many, but as a legal profession and an Association, we are one.
30 See AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, ABA SECTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, ABOUT US,
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/international_law/about_us.html (last February 5, 2015).
31 See AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL LEGAL RESOURCE CENTER,
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/international_law/initiatives_awards/international_legal_resource_center.html (last visited February 5, 2015).
32 See AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, CENTRAL EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN LAW INITIATIVE,
http://apps.americanbar.org/legalservices/probono/soc/ceeli.html (last visited February 5, 2015).
33 See AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, RULE OF LAW INITIATIVE, http://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/rule_of_law.html (last visited February 5, 2015).
34 See WORLD JUSTICE PROJECT, RULE OF LAW INDEX, http://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index (last visited February 5, 2015).
109
