At the request of the Iraqi Constitutional Review Committee, the parliamentary committee responsible for drafting amendments to the 2005 Constitution, the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) has deployed a team of lawyers to provide legal assistance to the Committee and other law makers involved in the amendment process.  PILPG is providing this assistance in the lead-up to the May 15 deadline for submitting constitutional amendments to the Iraqi parliament.

The team in Baghdad consists of attorneys and constitutional experts including Paul Williams, Vanessa Jiménez, Courtney Meade, and Robin Gary.  The Baghdad deployment is supported by a team of researchers in Washington DC headed by Kora Mehta and Justin Landreth, as well as by PILPG's law firm partners.  These law firm partners include Covington & Burling; DLA Piper; Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; Shearman & Sterling; Steptoe & Johnson; and Sullivan & Cromwell.

PILPG opened an office in Baghdad in November 2006.  The office has been providing legal assistance to the Iraqi government on issues related to implementing the Iraq Constitution, developing the Iraqi judiciary, and addressing resource distribution, among other issues.  This project is supported by funding from the United States Department of State, and draws on PILPG's prior experience advising the Chairman of Iraq's Constitutional Drafting Committee in Baghdad in the summer of 2005.

About the Public International Law & Policy Group

The Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) is a global, pro bono law firm providing legal assistance to governments and states involved in conflicts. To facilitate use of this legal assistance, PILPG also provides policy formation advice and training on matters related to conflict resolution.    In 2005 PILPG was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

PILPG's primary practice areas are Peacebuilding, International Justice, Post-Conflict Political Development, and Public International Law. To provide pro bono legal advice and policy formulation expertise, PILPG relies almost exclusively on volunteer legal assistance from more than sixty former international lawyers, diplomats, and foreign relations experts, as well as pro bono assistance from major international law firms. Annually, PILPG is able to provide over $10 million worth of pro bono international legal services.

Because of its diverse network of volunteers, PILPG is able to maintain volunteer points of contact in London, Paris, New York, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Boston, Rome, The Hague, Stockholm, Brussels, Kabul, Nairobi, and Seattle. In July 1999, the United Nations granted official Non-Governmental Organization status to PILPG.

The Managing Board of PILPG includes:

Paul Williams - Executive Director
Michael Scharf - Managing Director
James Hooper - Managing Director

To learn more about the Public International Law & Policy Group, please visit our website at http://www.pilpg.org.