This week the Public International Law & Policy Group, and its founders (Paul Williams, Michael Scharf and James Hooper), were nominated with the support of over a half-dozen of PILPG's current and former pro bono clients for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize.

PILPG and its founders were nominated for "significantly contributing to the promotion of peace throughout the globe by providing crucial pro bono legal assistance to states and non-state entities involved in peace negotiations and in bringing war criminals to justice."

The Public International Law & Policy Group is a non-profit organization, which operates as a global pro bono law firm providing free legal assistance to developing states and states in transition involved in conflicts. To facilitate the utilization of this legal assistance, PILPG also provides policy formulation advice and training on matters related to conflict resolution. To date, PILPG has advised over fifteen countries and sub-state entities on the legal aspects of peace negotiations and post-conflict constitution drafting, and over twenty countries and international institutions concerning the protection of human rights, self-determination and the prosecution of war crimes.

PILPG specializes in four practice areas:

• Peacebuilding
• International Justice
• Post-Conflict Political Development
• Public International Law

To provide pro bono legal advice and policy formulation expertise, PILPG draws on the volunteer services of over sixty former legal advisors and former Foreign Service officers from the U.S. Department of State and other foreign ministries. PILPG also draws on pro bono assistance from major international law firms including Sullivan & Cromwell; Covington & Burling, Steptoe & Johnson, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering; Curtis, Mallet-Prevost; Vinson & Elkins; and graduate international affairs and law students at American University and Case Western Reserve Schools of Law.

Frequently, PILPG sends members in-country to facilitate the provision of legal assistance and its members often serve on the delegations of its clients during peace negotiations. To facilitate this assistance, PILPG is based in Washington, D.C. and maintains points of contact in New York City, Boston, Seattle, Cleveland, London, Paris, Rome, The Hague, Stockholm, Belfast, Krakow, Budapest, Zurich, Tbilisi, Kabul and Nairobi.

PILPG was founded in London in 1995 and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1996, where it operated under the auspices of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace for two years. PILPG currently maintains an association with American University in Washington, D.C., and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. In July 1999, the United Nations granted official Non-Governmental Organizations status to PILPG.

For more information about PILPG, please visit our website: www.publicinternationallaw.org.