Russian Justice Initiative

The Russian Justice Initiative (RJI) is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organization based in Russia that conducts strategic litigation with the aim of combating impunity for serious human rights abuses committed in connection with the second Chechen conflict and with ongoing counter-terrorism operations throughout the North Caucasus region. RJI also maintains a smaller litigation project stemming from the most recent conflict in South Ossetia, conducted in partnership with the Tbilisi-based Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA). By mid-2010 RJI had won almost 90 cases at the European Court of Human Rights, including precedent-setting cases on disappearances, and has been actively working on the issue of implementation of judgments since mid-2008.