The German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ, Deutsche Stiftung für internationale rechtliche Zusammenarbeit e.V.) Member

The German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) was established as a registered association in May 1992 on the initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Justice. The establishment was preceded by various inquiries of the transition countries of Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe asking the Federal Ministry of Justice for assistance in the upcoming reforms.

Since being established in 1992, the IRZ (as a non-profit organization) assists states in developing rule-of-law structures and implementing functioning market economy structures. In doing so, it constantly develops its strategies and concepts further and adapts them to other states and regions. The IRZ works both by order of and with funding from the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection and through project-related funds by the Federal Foreign Office, amongst others. Additionally, the IRZ Foundation implements EU projects initiated and funded by the European Commission within the framework of its neighbouring and accession policy.

Experts of the IRZ get involved wherever there is a demand for support in establishing constitutional structures based on the rule of law and on democratic principles. In addition, they assist states in establishing the basis for private economic activities safeguarded by a functioning civil law system and in approximating the national law to the European Union Law. In our bilateral and multilateral projects, we identify the potentials of the local institutions and design consultation concepts tailored to the specific needs of the respective countries.