About the Internet Silk Road Initiative

Image taken by Todd Huffman on his trip from Kabul to Jalalabad.

The Internet Bar Organization (IBO) is global non-profit organization founded in 2005 to further the rule of law and promote peace through projects encouraging access to education, technology, and poverty alleviation.

IBO grounds its work in the effective use of technology and communication to streamline and expand the capabilities of developing communities. The Internet Silk Road project has been developed as an initiative to research the use of appropriate technologies in Afghanistan to promote the Rule of Law by assisting in access to knowledge about the law, as well as access to dispute resolution mechanisms.

Land in Afghanistan has long been a source of conflict, replete with conflicting central governmental policies, varied levels of local enforcement, corruption, ethnic and gender tensions, and poor record keeping. Numerous efforts have been implemented over the years to perform comprehensive and definitive surveys of the country with mixed, and always incomplete, results. Deeply ingrained mistrust of the central government, both in executive and judicial form, has further complicated attempts both at land registry and the resolution of land disputes.

One proposed Internet Silk Road project aims to provide a vitally important service to Afghan communities at a time when the need for clearly defined land tenure is a growing concern for both foreign and domestic interests in the country. Our goal is to resolve Afghan land disputes by 1. investigating the effective and ineffective aspects of the dispute resolution systems currently in use, 2. collecting evidence related to potential disputes helping to create a harmonized e-registry of land and attendant disputes, and 3. creating an alternative dispute resolution mechanism for land disputes that integrates traditional and formal dispute resolution practices to provide disputants a remedy that is accessible, fair and just. To be judged a success, the project must gain acceptance both by the populace and the central government, in accordance with IBO’s broader mission of promoting effective rule of law through ADR.

A second ISR project, the Adela Initiative, is an applied research project investigating the use of a suite of integrated communication technologies to reinforce Afghans’ comprehension of, participation in, and access to justice.

Recognizing an emphasis on local informal mechanisms and the Afghan population’s lack of detailed understanding of the interaction between formal and informal justice in a culturally heterogeneous population, the Adela Law Initiative (ALI) will increase accountability for both formal and informal justice mechanisms by educating the public on the possibility and practicality of a functioning justice system using a combination of new and familiar technologies to collect and disseminate legal information from and to all stakeholders: citizens, lawyers, judges and customary judicial bodies.  ALI will operate independently of both formal and informal judicial processes, creating and curating content with advice from representatives of all judicial stakeholders.

To meet these objectives, ALI creates a process that expands the trust networks necessary for a legal system to function effectively from the local to the national level. ALI acts as a platform that encourages dialogue, debate, and awareness of the law on a national level, as well as engagement and accountability on a local level. Stimulating a culture of fair ruling in a country where the informal legal system is still incredibly active cannot be solely centrally mandated.  Shared expectations and transparent knowledge and practice of the law must be collaboratively built through multiple sectors and levels of Afghan society.

Please click here and visit the Internet Silk Road website to learn more.