Company Profile
Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI)
Company Overview
The Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative
(CEELI) -- a public service project of the
American Bar Association (ABA) -- advances the
rule of law by supporting the law reform process
in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet
Union, and other parts of the world.
Through its volunteer legal liaison program as
well as through its training institute in Prague,
CEELI makes available American and European legal
expertise and technical assistance for these
emerging democracies in modifying and
restructuring laws and legal systems.
CEELI has offices in 22 countries across Central
Europe and Eurasia. Since its founding in 1990,
more than 5,000 judges, attorneys, law professors
and legal specialists have contributed over $180
million in pro bono assistance to promoting the
rule of law in the region.
Company History
CEELI was founded in 1990 by Homer Moyer, who
served as the Executive Board Chairman until
summer 2002, and by Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte.
A premise of CEELI is that lasting economic and
political reform is dependent on a functioning
system of law. The rule of law, so basic a part
of our cultural fabric, is a continuing priority
in many countries still moving away from
communist and socialist systems. In these
countries, political and economic reforms are
clearly dependent upon one another, and both
require a sound legal structure.
CEELI's legal assistance programs were conceived
through consultations with leaders in the region
to respond quickly and broadly to the enormous
tasks associated with reforming their economies
and legal infrastructures. CEELI began working in
Central and Eastern Europe in 1990 and in the NIS
in 1992. With little other technical legal
assistance flowing into the regions from Western
Europe or the United States, CEELI initially
focused on such issues as constitutional law,
judicial restructuring, criminal law, and
commercial law. In an effort to support the
development and reform of indigenous legal
institutions, CEELI is also allocating resources
to assist in judicial restructuring,
strengthening lawyers' associations, reforming
legal education, and combating organized crime
and corruption.
In providing technical legal assistance, CEELI is
guided by several key principles.
1) CEELI is designed to be responsive to the
needs and priorities of the countries of Central
and Eastern Europe and the NIS, not those of the
U.S. participants or sponsors. Accordingly, the
work of CEELI remains heavily influenced by
consultations with government and non-government
officials, legal scholars, and practitioners from
the host countries.
2) CEELI recognizes that U.S. legal experience
and traditions offer but one approach that
participating countries may wish to consider. A
variety of models, including those of many civil
law countries, offer alternative legal traditions
that are also valuable sources of law.
Consequently, CEELI includes other perspectives,
particularly West European, in its programs. In
the emerging democracies of Central and Eastern
Europe and the NIS, however, there is great
interest in the U.S. legal tradition,
particularly with regard to individual and human
rights, allocations of governmental power, and
the free market system.
3) CEELI is a public service project and not a
device for developing business opportunities.
Accordingly, CEELI has adopted strict conflict of
interest guidelines designed to ensure that
technical advice offered by CEELI participants is
neutral and that conflicts of interest, or
appearance of conflicts, are avoided to the
maximum extent possible.
By turning to the over 400,000 ABA members, as
well as other legal experts in the United States
and Western Europe, CEELI has been able to
marshal and make available a high level of
expertise to address host countries' requests for
assistance. Because participating lawyers and
judges volunteer their time on a pro bono basis,
CEELI has been able to achieve an extraordinary
degree of financial leverage.