Building off the recommendations of the ILAC Syria Assessment, launched in April 2017 and in response to the many challenges faced by justice sector actors inside Syria, the project implemented by the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) focuses on providing support to lawyers and legal professionals in Syria, with a particular effort to target young lawyers working in conflict affected areas throughout Syria. ABA ROLI works with a cadre of Syrian legal experts who identified specific challenges faced by judges and lawyers providing legal services in Syria today, particularly related to the administration of courts in non-governmental areas in Syria. They identified three key issues:

• Collection of evidence and case-building;
• Women’s rights with regard to legal guardianship of children and missing husbands; and
• Housing and property rights.

ABA ROLI has developed court guides intended to provide practical guidance for Syrian justice sector actors to address key issues with regard to Syrian law and international laws and best practices. ABA ROLI also developed skills-courses for young Syrian Lawyers for implementation in Lebanon and Jordan in 2018, where ABA ROLI will hold workshops, including sessions exclusively for women lawyers in partnership with the Arab Women’s Legal Network. The objective will be to refine the materials, develop teaching capacity among some Syrian lawyers, and develop the legal skills of lawyers who will practice in Syria.