Cross-border Legal Aid Interventions in Humanitarian Contexts - Sharing Good Cross-Border Practices: Concept Note

The legal aid and justice issues and needs of conflict- and displacement-affected people will often transcend borders, as conflict and displacement affected people have legal aid needs not only in the country of displacement or in the country of destination, but also while being on the move, in transit or upon return. In addition, some of the legal aid needs of displacement/conflict affected population possess a “cross-border” dimension: (i) legal actions have to be undertaken in the country of origin in order to retrieve a legal or civil documents in the country of displacement; (ii) ownership have to be obtained by the civil registry of the country of origin in order to proceed with housing, land, property compensation/restitution claims or inheritance cases; (iii) displaced population across different countries may want to solve family civil or HLP disputes. Strategic litigation may concern justice and redress claims with cross- border nature: (i) a refugee may file a complaint in the country of asylum for violations allegedly suffered in the country of origin or transit; (ii) an asylum seeker may need to compile information for refugee determination process gathering evidence of violence suffered in the country of transit or origin. Thus, cross-border legal aid programming can be an important and relevant way of addressing a host of legal aid issues and needs.