How we meet these challenges

Our unique and uniting factor in the Commonwealth is our common legal heritage. Laws and legal terms are written in English, which places us in a strong position to help countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and the Pacific.

- We support the digitisation of legal resources so small jurisdictions can log on and access. As well as being cost effective, this helps countries from all corners of the world share legal information with each other.

- We provide training seminars which range from two week courses to university modules on legislative drafting to help address the serious shortage of lawyers who have the ability to draft laws. We are a leading player in this area.

- We draft and circulate model legislation which acts as a guide for Commonwealth member countries when they translate their international legal obligations into domestic legislation. We have recently drafted model legislation on whistleblowing which forms part of the programme undertaken to tackle corruption.

- We disseminate legal information in three ways; firstly through the website which has Commonwealth Secretariat Reports and other legal information. Secondly, the Commonwealth Law Bulletin (CLB) is a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal focusing on legal articles, legislation, law reform and judicial decisions throughout the Commonwealth and is circulated to Ministries of Justice, Courts of Law, Law Reform Agencies, Parliaments, Bar Associations and Universities across the Commonwealth. Thirdly, the Legal Dissemination Series is a series of regional seminars which will serve as a forum for experts to identify issues emerging within international law on a regional basis, and to make recommendations on best practices and lessons learnt in a multi-stakeholder environment.

- We provide direct technical assistance to Member Countries where required.