Meet DIILS

Few people outside the cloistered world of military justice are aware of the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies, based in Newport, Rhode Island. Here's a link to DIILS's home page -- it's well worth visiting regularly. Here's was DIILS says about itself:

The Defense Institute of International Legal Studies - DIILS for short - is a small organization on the Navy base in Newport, Rhode Island.  Our staff of 30 supports U.S. foreign policy and security policy with rule of law training and education focused on human rights, international humanitarian law, and the law of armed conflict.  We work for the Department of Defense. Everyone knows that the U.S. Department of State is involved in the business of international affairs, but most people don't realize that our Department of Defense is also engaged in this area.

We have an educational mission. Our staff military lawyers, called JAGs, travel to foreign countries to conduct courses, seminars and workshops for foreign military officers, legal advisors, and related civilians.  In FY2011, we gave more than 130 of these seminars all over the world!  We also offered 10 Resident Courses at our home base in Newport, Rhode Island to foreign military officers and civilians from around the world. 

Our motto is "Justitia per orbem terrarum", which means justice for all the earth.  We focus on nations where the U.S. Government has a strategic interest in enhancing the rule of law and democracy. We help countries set up or change their military justice system; build accountability and transparency into existing legal structures in order to combat corruption; explain international human rights law and humanitarian standards; or share legal lessons learned from deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq with units preparing to deploy.

These activities not only enhance the knowledge and skills of our participants, they also build positive relationships and mutual trust with U.S. partners and allies world-wide.