International Bridges to Justice

Mission

In recognition of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Bridges to Justice, as a non-government and non-profit organization, is dedicated to ensuring the basic legal rights of ordinary citizens in developing countries. Specifically, IBJ works to guarantee the rights of all citizens to competent legal representation, to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment, and to a fair trial.

Programs

Defense lawyer capacity-building (training, resources and international partnerships), support for criminal justice reform through judicial roundtable conferences, and public legal rights awareness campaigns.

Funded Projects on GlobalGiving

Chinese Defender Training for Trainers Program

Bridge to torture-free life for Rwanda’s children

Personnel Overview

Karen Tse - Executive Director
Karen Tse developed her interest in the cross section of criminal law and human rights after seeing Southeast Asian refugees imprisoned without trial. A former San Francisco public defender, she moved to Cambodia in 1994 to train the country's first core group of public defenders and then served as a United Nations Judicial Mentor. Ms. Tse is a graduate of UCLA Law and Harvard Divinity School.

Michael F. Gompers - Training Director
Prior to joining IBJ, Michael Gompers was a Senior Staff Attorney with the Criminal Defense Division of the Legal Aid Society of New York. In addition to having over 16 years of trial experience, Mr. Gompers has performed special trial strategy sessions for staff attorneys and supervised junior attorneys on case preparation, invitation techniques, and trial performance.

Personnel Statistics

Karen Tse,
Founder and CEO
Founded in 2000
Employees: 2
Volunteers: 20

Financial Statistics

Budget (2007): $ 1,300,000
Budget (2006): $ 1,000,000
Maximum Budget: $ 1,000,000
Overhead: 20 %
Other funding sources: Open Society Institute; Echoing Green Foundation; Ashoka; US-China Legal Coop Fund; Skoll Foundation; MacArthur Foundation; Oak Foundation
Religious Affiliation: none