Chapter 1: ‘Often initiative arises from necessity’.
This was one of my favourite quotes when I approached StraLi. Since then, despite the distance from my home town and alternative paths to law, I have always felt connected with its mission and people.
StraLi (STRAtegic Litigation) is a non-profit association made up of seven young Turin lawyers. Its aim is to promote the protection of rights through the tools of strategic litigation.
In its early beginnings, StraLi was born from a meeting of some lawyers who, faced with the dysfunctions of the justice system, shared the same need for change.
Benedetta is the founder and current president. She is a criminal and human rights lawyer (she founded Studio Legale Freccia), PhD in decision-making mechanisms of the supervisory judiciary, and is a research fellow at the University of Turin’s – Law department.
What we are going to unpack together with Benedetta in this interview is to give more space to how technology influences not only the way e-discovery or traditional litigation is done on a day-to-day basis but also its deeper influence on fundamental rights and procedural guarantees, taking the Italian jurisdiction as an example.
Enjoy the reading.
Marco: Welcome to the Legal Technologist, Benedetta. To kick off, could you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your role and mission at StraLi?
Benedetta: Thank you for having me, Marco. I’m Benedetta Perego, a co-founder of StraLi, an NGO dedicated to strategic litigation to protect fundamental human rights. At StraLi, we approach legal challenges with innovative strategies to tackle long-term issues, particularly those that can’t be sufficiently addressed through traditional legal processes. This includes advocating for new categories of fundamental rights shaped by technological advancements.
Marco: StraLi seems to cover quite a broad range of topics at the intersection of law and technology. What inspired the creation of such an NGO back in the day?
Benedetta: The genesis of StraLi came from a dual need. Initially, my co-founders and I wanted to break away from the rigid structures of traditional NGOs to use our legal expertise more dynamically.
Broadly, we recognized a gap in addressing long-term systemic issues through normative legal tools.
Issues like the climate crisis and immigration need innovative legal approaches because traditional systems often focus on short-term outcomes. And above all, how much new technologies are impacting our digital rights.
Marco: Most of our readers are lawyers, and as you might know, lawyers are often by default obsessed with definitions. To better frame the problem we are discussing together, can you provide me with your definition and interpretation of strategic litigation?
Benedetta: Strategic litigation, also known as impact litigation, is the practice of bringing lawsuits intended to effect societal changes through the promotion of individual legal actions.
The main purpose is: we bring a specific legal case to the judge’s attention while highlighting the violation of fundamental rights such as procedural guarantees or the right to a fair trial.
The end target is to shape and amend legislation by eliminating such a violation.
Marco: What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered in promoting rights through strategic litigation? In this regard, how have digital technologies influenced your work at StraLi?
Benedetta: One major challenge is the cultural resistance to new forms of litigation, especially from a judiciary accustomed to conventional methods. The litigation sector is still quite traditional, to my understanding, and much more so the Italian one. Therefore, we faced a lot of resistance, especially in the early times.
I like to think of technology as a double-edged sword. It has significantly empowered our operations, allowing us to work remotely and handle cases more efficiently. However, it also presents new challenges, especially in rights protection. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we utilized technology to advocate for the rights of detainees to access information and maintain family contacts, which was crucial when physical visits were suspended. We also faces challenges imposed by digital transformations in the legal field, where technology can be both a tool for advancing rights and a barrier to justice.
Marco: I love the double-ended word metaphor. I have personally always considered technology as a facilitator to make our lives better, but almost never something to aim for. With the growing impact of technology on the legal profession, how does StraLi navigate these changes?
Benedetta: We’re very mindful of how we integrate technology into our work. It’s essential for managing our decentralized operations and facilitating our international advocacy. Yet, we remain cautious about how technologies like biometric surveillance and digital evidence are used within legal processes to ensure they don’t infringe on individual rights.
Chapter 2: What can strategic litigation do in practice.
Marco: Looking towards the future, what are your goals for Strali?
Benedetta: Our immediate goal is to refine our strategic litigation techniques to better address and influence international standards on human rights. We’re also focusing on creating more targeted advocacy on emerging rights issues, particularly those arising from technological advancements.
Marco: To better understand things in practice, could you share a couple of cases that particularly stand out in your career with StraLi?
Benedetta: Sure. I have two interesting ones for you.
The first Sadd v. Sitali was a significant case that we brought before the European Court of Human Rights. We challenged the conditions of a detainee in Italy, arguing for violations of multiple human rights provisions. It exemplifies our commitment to addressing systemic issues through strategic litigation, especially in contexts where the rights of vulnerable populations are at stake. You can find mor interesting details on the case directly on our website page.
The second is much more focused on violation of digital rights for individuals. In collaboration with DFF (Digital Freedom Fund) we delivered a solid piece of research on the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement and judicial authorities in Italy.
More specifically, this strategic litigation has target exemptions to a recent legislation enacted in December 2021, which suspended the installation and use of facial recognition technologies in public areas by both private and public actors, with an exemption for its continued use for the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of criminal offences. StraLi completed this research in 2023, publishing two complementary reports.
Marco: Benedetta, your insights today have been incredibly enlightening. Thank you for sharing your experiences and the impactful work StraLi is doing in strategic litigation and technology.
Benedetta: Thank you, Marco. It’s been a pleasure discussing these crucial topics of ours with you all.
Want to know more about StraLi? Reach out to them via email at [email protected].
Visit www.strali.org
