With support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the International Legal Foundation – Afghanistan (ILF-A) provides high-quality criminal assistance to Afghans who could not otherwise afford legal representation across the country. ILF-A works with both the International Legal Foundation and the Montréal-based International Criminal Defence Attorney’s Association.

ILF-A seeks to establish a locally-run, non-government legal aid service provider. It provides legal aid services out of its 13 offices around Afghanistan. International experts, including Canadian lawyers and specialists, promote the continuous learning of local staff by giving training courses in the areas of:

• International human rights law.
• Comparative law (common, civil, and Islamic/Arabic law).
• New legal developments and jurisprudence.
• Administration and management.

The project has achieved the following significant results to date:

• The ILF has established a country-wide public defender system in Afghanistan, known as ILF-Afghanistan, with 13 regional offices and a head office in Kabul.
• Forty-three Afghan lawyers have been trained and mentored on a day-to-day, case-by-case basis. These lawyers have provided free legal advice to thousands of indigent Afghans, men, women and children.

• International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association