Naina Patel returns from a year of justice reform in Helmand
16 Sep 11
Naina has returned to Chambers after a sabbatical year leading justice sector reform in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.
As Senior Justice Adviser to the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team (June 2010 to June 2011), Naina worked alongside UK policemen, prison governors and fellow lawyers to assist the Afghans in improving the rule of law in one of its most hostile and war-ravaged provinces.
Her work with the justice sector straddled the state legal system and the more traditional community-based dispute resolution system. Within the state system, Naina worked to increase the number of judges, lawyers and civil society organizations active in the province as well as quality of justice on offer; while within the community-based system, efforts were focused on improving information on and access to the state system amongst communities, as well as disseminating knowledge of basic legal and constitutional principles, aimed at bringing community-based decisions into greater compliance with state law and better protecting the rights of vulnerable individuals.
More details on Naina’s work can be found in the Guardian (16 September): http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/15/long-road-justice-afghanistan