The mission of The Legal Empowerment Academy is to build capacity among formal and informal legal practitioners to resolve disputes about scarce resources and to support the evolution of law to better respond to complex sustainability challenges. 

 LEA works with decision-makers on questions about how to develop a legitimate decision in conflict resolution when written rules do not provide adequate guidance and multiple interests are at stake. Conflicts can be about anything. Examples are conflicts about access to fertile land and water, but the allocation of exploitation rights to tour boat operators in Amsterdam is also a learning opportunity.    

The work of LEA is to strenghten informal and formal 'bottom up' law making by sharing knowledge and best practices in constructive legal reasoning. Good judgement implies articulated choices. Cross-interpretation between cases, learning over time, local values and perceptions of justice and the boundaries of formal law play a role, but none is neccesarily decisive. Justice is served by adequate complexity of consistent decision-making.

LEA is about collaboration. We are looking for cases that match the description and can benefit from our approach or cases that already qualify as best practice and that can be learned from by others.. If you want to share a case or would like to receive support please contact us.