Application Forms: Countering Anti-Rights Actors Network (2025-2028)

Form A: Organisational Application Form

COUNTERING ANTI-RIGHTS ACTORS NETWORK (2025-2028) FORM A: ORGANISATIONAL APPLICATION FORM

This section of the application must be filled out by the Organisational representative (eg. the executive director) of the organisation seeking to be a partner organisation in the Countering Anti-Rights Actors Network. When you complete the form, please provide as much detail and substantive information as possible. (Maximum of 2 000 characters for each question.)

I. ORGANISATION’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Executive Director's Name: *

Organisation’s Name and Registration Number: *

Physical Address: *

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

City

State / Province / Region

Postal Code

Country

Email *

Phone

II. ORGANISATIONAL OBJECTIVES

1. Describe your organisation’s mandate, objectives, priority focus areas, and underpinning ideology. Please specify how your organisation’s work relates to human rights. *

2. How is strategic litigation located in your organisation’s Strategic Plan? How long has your organisation been involved in strategic litigation? *

3. What is your organisation’s understanding of “the use of strategic litigation as a tool for social change”? *

Please include the following in your answer: (a) whether there an enabling environment to use strategic litigation as a tool for social change in your jurisdiction and regionally; and (b) what you perceive to be barriers or opportunities?

III. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND REPRESENTATION

4. Please describe your organisational structure/composition. *

5. Is your organisation: *

LGBTI-led; or
Women-led; or
Have women or LGBTI people in leadership positions?

IV. STRATEGIC LITIGATION

6. Does your organisation have a strategic litigation concept note or strategy document? If yes, kindly summarise it. If not, does your organisation plan to develop a concept note or strategy? *

7. What is your case selection criteria for strategic litigation matters? *

8. Does your organisation represent or provide legal services (representation, advice, or legal aid) for individual clients, act in its own name or both? How does your organisation decide whether to represent individual clients or to act in its own name? *

9. Once you have decided to work on a strategic litigation case, what is the organisation’s procedure on how the case should be conducted. In your answer, please describe (a) to what extent you brief external counsel; and (b) what is the extent of in-house lawyers’ engagement in litigation? *

10. Describe your organisation’s media and communications strategy for cases in which you are involved. *

V. COLLABORATIONS

11. Is your organisation part of any social movements? If yes, please describe the movements and your organisation’s role. If not, what would you need to create these links? *

12. What kind of a partnership is your organisation interested in building with ISLA and why? *

13. Does your organisation work with the State? If so, please describe: (a) the nature and extent of your relationship; and (b) whether this would affect your capacity to litigate against the State. *

VI. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

14. Please indicate any additional information that you deem relevant for this application

Form B: Individual Lawyer Application Form

COUNTERING ANTI-RIGHTS ACTORS NETWORK (2025-2028) FORM B: INDIVIDUAL LAWYER APPLICATION FORM

This section of the application must be filled out by the individual lawyer (whether they are in private practice or in an organisation) who will join the Countering Anti-Rights Actors Network. When you complete the form, please provide as much detail and substantive information as possible. Please note that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is not permitted, and it could lead to your disqualification for this role

I. LAWYER’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Name of lawyer: *

Company/Firm/Organisation: *

Email *

Phone

II. EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

1. What is your highest educational qualification (undergraduate degree, Masters, or PhD)? If you have completed a specialised educational qualification in human rights or constitutional law (e.g. LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation OR dissertation on Gender, Sexuality, Women’s Human Rights, Violence Against Women, etc), please set out the details. *

2. Are you qualified to litigate or are you an advocate (with right of appearance in the jurisdiction in which you work)? *

3. Do you speak English, and are you able to work in English? *

4. How long have you been practising as a lawyer? Please tick one. *

2 – 4 years
4 – 8 years
8+ years

III. SUITABILITY FOR THE POSITION

Please detail your suitability for this position under the relevant headings below stating when and where skills and experience were gained. This is the most important part of the application form. It is the section where applicants let us know about their suitability for the position. Applicants are shortlisted on the basis of the information that is provided here. It is insufficient to simply state that one has experience, we require details. (Maximum of 5000 characters for each criteria.)

Criteria 1: Have substantial experience using constitutional, regional and international human rights law. *

Criteria 2: Have in-depth of sophisticated understanding of international and comparative human rights mechanisms and institutions. *

Criteria 3: Experience of working with social movements. *

Criteria 4: Sophisticated understanding of anti-rights actors, their strategies, and tactics. *

IV. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Please indicate any additional information that you deem relevant for this application.

Disability

If you require any special arrangements to be made to assist you if called for interview, please let us know in advance of the interview.

Disability Requirements (If Applicable)

About Us

Founded in 2014, the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) is a Pan-African and feminist initiative with a timely remit: to strengthen strategic human rights litigation across the African continent. Essentially, we aim to change the way that strategic litigation is used so as to enable broader access to justice and to support those who seek to hold states accountable for violations of women’s human rights and sexual rights.

Contact Details

Contact Number:

+27 11 338 9028

Fax: +27 11 338 9029

Address: 87 de Korte Street,
South Point Corner, 7th Floor Braamfontein, 2017 Gauteng, South Africa