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New legal database on community land and natural resource rights

Namati has launched a groundbreaking new tool for lawyers and advocates working to protect community rights to land and natural resources: the Community Land Rights CaseBase.

More and more lawyers and front line legal advocates are stepping forward to defend communities’ rights, yet they often struggle to find supportive legal precedent – within their own country or from abroad. Accessing relevant case law can be difficult, especially when records are not digitized or available online. Too often advocates work in isolation, unaware of successful arguments and strategies from other nations that they could leverage.

To address this need, Namati created CaseBase – the first free, online, searchable database of case law from around the world relevant to communities’ rights to land and natural resources.

Explore CaseBase

The goal of CaseBase is to help communities and their advocates to craft and share successful litigation strategies for the protection of lands and natural resources. The database provides concise case summaries and full-text court decisions from national, regional and international courts. Some highlights from the database include:

The landmark Endorois ruling on indigenous land rights in Kenya

SATIIM’s victory for indigenous and community rights in Belize

A foundational case for indigenous rights around the world from Australia

While our team will be constantly seeking and uploading new cases, the growth of CaseBase depends on participation by lawyers and advocates around the world. Please join us in using the database, adding comments and updates, submitting cases, and helping to spread the word.

CaseBase is one of many resources designed for the Global Legal Empowerment Network. Join now to connect with allies and access other tools.


April 1, 2015 | Marena Brinkhurst

Region: > Global

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