Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor

The Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor was an independent international organization, hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and established in 2005 as the “first global initiative to focus on the link between exclusion, poverty, and the law.”
Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor (2008). Making The Law Work for Everyone. Drawing upon three years of research, the Commission proposed strategies for creating inclusive development initiatives that would empower those living in poverty through increased protections and rights. Its final 2008 report, Making the Law Work for Everyone, argued that as many as 4 billion people worldwide are “robbed of the chance to better their lives and climb out of poverty, because they are excluded from the rule of law”.
Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor (2008). Making The Law Work for Everyone. p.1 In response, the Report proposed four “pillars” for legal empowerment of the poor (LEP), which, the Commission argued, would enable those living in poverty to become partners in, rather than passive recipients of, development programs. These four pillars are: access to justice and the rule of law, property rights, labor rights, and business rights.
Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor (2008). Making The Law Work for Everyone. p.31

Upon concluding its research and producing its final report, the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor ceased to exist as an independent organization. However, the Commission’s findings continue to be an integral part of the UNDP’s Initiative on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, and have contributed to the creation of similar LEP initiatives in organizations such as th
World Bank
and th
Open Society Foundations

History of Legal Empowerment of the Poor

Before legal empowerment for the poor (LEP) emerged as a conceptual tool in 2003, development scholars such as Dan Banik argued that “the relationship between law and development in the international development discourse was traditionally very narrowly focused on law, lawyers and state institutions.”Banik,D. (2009). The Potential of Legal Empowerment in Eradicating Poverty. ''Rights and Development Bulletin.''1,13: p.5 The result, more often than not, was a “top-down” approach to development, in which aid initiatives often overlooked or excluded the voices of the very people they intended to help Golub,S.(2003).'' Beyond the Rule of Law Orthodoxy- The Legal Empowerment Alternative.'' Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Legal empowerment of the poor, by contrast, sought to bring these previously excluded voices into the development discussion, while at the same time working to expand the rights and protections afforded to those living in poverty. Stephen Golub, one of the founding scholars in the field, argued that legal empowerment “puts community-driven and rights-based development into effect by offering concrete mechanisms, involving but not limited to legal services, that alleviate poverty, advance the rights of the disadvantaged, and make the rule of law more of a reality for them”.Golub,S.(2003).'' Beyond the Rule of Law Orthodoxy- The Legal Empowerment Alternative.'' Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, p.3. Drawing upon these principles and bolstered by the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor emerged as an effort to convert theories of LEP into action.

Founding of the Commission

The Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, co-chaired by former U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright and Hernando de Soto, Peruvian economist and founder of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD), was launched in 2005 by a group of developing and industrialized countries including Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Norway, Sweden, South Africa, Tanzania and the United Kingdom, and completed its work in 2008.

Members

The Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor (CLEP) was made up of influential policymakers and practitioners from around the world who were believed to be uniquely well-positioned to advocate among their peers for legal reforms in developing countries. Given its unique structure, CLEP was seen as a powerful catalyst for change among global leaders and within the development community.

Commissioners

* Fazle Hasan Abed, Founder and Chairperson, BRAC, Bangladesh
* Lloyd Axworthy, former Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada
* Leszek Balcerowicz, President of the National Bank of Poland
* Lakhdar Brahimi, former Special Representative to the U.N. Secretary General
* Gordon Brown, Prime Minister, United Kingdom
* Fernando Cardoso, former President of Brazil
* Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Iran
* Ashraf Ghani, Dean of Kabul University and former Minister of Finance for Afghanistan
* Prince Hassan bin Talal, President of the Club of Rome
* Muhammad Medhat Hassanein, former Minister of Finance for Egypt
* Hilde Frafjord Johnson, former Minister of International Development, Norway
* Anthony Kennedy, Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court
* Allan Larsson, former Minister of Finance for Sweden
* Clotilde Aniouvi Medegan Nougbode, President of the High Court of Benin
* Benjamin Mkapa, former President of the United Republic of Tanzania
* Mike Moore, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, former Director General of the WTO
* Milinda Moragoda, former Minister of Economic Reforms, Science and Technology, Sri Lanka
* Syed Tanwir H. Naqvi, former Chairman of the National Reconstruction Bureau of Pakistan
* Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former High Commissioner of Human Rights
* Arjun Kumar Sengupta

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