International Law Book Facility

The International Law Book Facility (ILBF) is a small UK-based charity with the mission to support the rule of law and access to justice through sharing legal knowledge. To achieve this goal, the ILBF ships second-hand legal texts, donated by the UK legal community, to organisations across the world who are involved in access to justice and support the rule of law, including judiciaries, universities, law commissions, bar associations, prisons and pro bono groups. Tens of thousands of legal textbooks are not going into landfill but instead finding a new home supporting lawyers across the globe. A simple act of recycling to achieve our goal of sharing legal information to support the rule o... read more The International Law Book Facility (ILBF) is a small UK-based charity with the mission to support the rule of law and access to justice through sharing legal knowledge. To achieve this goal, the ILBF ships second-hand legal texts, donated by the UK legal community, to organisations across the world who are involved in access to justice and support the rule of law, including judiciaries, universities, law commissions, bar associations, prisons and pro bono groups. Tens of thousands of legal textbooks are not going into landfill but instead finding a new home supporting lawyers across the globe. A simple act of recycling to achieve our goal of sharing legal information to support the rule of law. From practitioners to judges, from students to teachers, from prisoners to prison officers and from administrators to government lawyers, our books are making a difference, reinforcing and developing the rule of law through sharing legal knowledge. Since 2005 the ILBF has sent more than 60,000 books to over 190 organisations in 51 countries in Africa, Asia, South America, the Caribbean, the Pacific and Europe. The charity is run by eight trustees, including members of the judiciary, barristers' chambers, and law firms. Volunteers on the Operating Committee manage the application process, the shipping of books, marketing and fund raising for the ILBF. The ILBF is run by a Chief Executive who reports to the trustees. The ILBF works with a number of organisations, including the British Council, The Law Society of England and Wales, the International Bar Association, ROLE UK, the UK Foreign Office and legal publishers as well as several law firm partners and barristers' chambers. The availability of good quality legal texts has an incredibly positive impact on the training of lawyers and judges, the administration of justice, the revision and updating of laws, and access to justice for whole communities. These are some of the measurable impacts of our work: Pass rates at the Law Development Centre in Uganda have improved Judiciaries have up to date texts to inform judgments Law Commissions have successively updated legislation University law departments have been able to provide students with course books and develop new courses Prisoners and prison officers have been equipped with the texts they need to complete the Law Diploma and to advise other prisoners and the wider community.