Deutsche Stiftung für internationale rechtliche Zusammenarbeit e.V. (IRZ)

What Deutsche Stiftung für internationale rechtliche Zusammenarbeit e.V. (IRZ) does

Deutsche Stiftung für internationale rechtliche Zusammenarbeit e.V. (IRZ) is a Bonn-based, registered non-profit foundation (eingetragener Verein) founded in 1992 that functions as Germany's official institution for international legal cooperation, operating under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV). Its mandate is to transfer German legal expertise to partner state governments across approximately 20 jurisdictions in the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, with thematic focus on EU legal approximation, judicial reform, anti-corruption, commercial and notarial law, mediation, and human rights protection. The foundation delivers services through expert advisory missions, training seminars, summer schools, study trips, regional conferences, professional publications, and EU Twinning projects, drawing on a curated database of German legal experts and a network of German judicial academies, the Federal Bar (BRAK), the German Notaries Association (BNotK), and the German Institution of Arbitration (DIS).

The business model is grant-funded rather than commercial: BMJV provides core institutional funding, supplemented by project-based co-financing from the European Union (notably EU Twinning consortia such as the EUR 2M Zambia anti-corruption project with HAUS Finland and the EUR 1.8M Uzbekistan regulatory-systematisation project with the Latvian Ministry of Justice) and donations recognized under the foundation's charitable tax status. IRZ does not charge partner countries for services and has no disclosed revenue figures. Underlying technology is modest and operational rather than differentiating: a Nextcloud-based IRZ Cloud for content management, DeepL Pro for GDPR-compliant translation since May 2024, Zoom for cross-border programming, and the irz.de website as the institutional storefront. Leadership is led by General Director Alexandra Albrecht and Director Dr. Stefan Hülshörster, with a regional project-area management structure covering Western Balkans, Eastern Europe/Central Asia, MENA, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Name

Deutsche Stiftung für internationale rechtliche Zusammenarbeit e.V. (IRZ)

Legal name

Deutsche Stiftung für internationale rechtliche Zusammenarbeit e.V. (IRZ)

Website

https://irz.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

German non-profit foundation that transfers legal expertise to 20+ partner-state governments through advisory missions, EU Twinning projects, training programs, and publications, funded by the Federal Ministry of Justice and EU project budgets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Legal Cooperation Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Offices of Lawyers (54111)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), International Affairs (9721), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

Keywords

• International legal cooperation
• Legal knowledge transfer
• EU twinning projects
• Rule of law programs
• Judicial capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Bonn

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: IRZ e.V. is primarily funded by the German Federal Government, specifically the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV). As a non-profit charitable organization recognized by tax authorities, IRZ also receives donations and project-based funding from EU programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IRZ is a German foundation that supports legal reform and harmonization in 20+ partner countries by transferring German legal expertise and EU legal standards to justice ministries, courts, and legal training institutions. The foundation delivers advisory missions, training seminars, summer schools, study trips, and EU-funded Twinning projects covering areas such as constitutional review, anti-corruption, administrative law, commercial law, and judicial reform. Activities are funded by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) and supplemented by EU project budgets.

Product overview

IRZ (Deutsche Stiftung für internationale rechtliche Zusammenarbeit e.V.) operates as a foundation for international legal cooperation, functioning as a platform for legal knowledge transfer rather than a traditional software product. The core offering includes expert database management for qualified legal professionals, the IRZ Cloud for content storage, translation services using DeepL Pro, professional publications, training programs (seminars, summer schools, study trips), and EU Twinning projects. These services work together to support legal reform and harmonisation in IRZ's partner states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Training Programs (Seminars, Summer Schools, Study Trips)

Quantifiable outcome

• 20+ partner countries in Africa, Europe, Middle East, and Asia actively engaged in legal cooperation programs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting, major and core.

• Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer (Federal German Bar Association)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Co-organized conference on 'Law as Location Factor - Promoting Investment in Africa' with Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer and Federal Ministry of Justice, bringing together decision-makers from governments, justice, business, and civil society.
• Latvian Ministry of JusticemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2024IRZ leads EU Twinning project 'Systematisation and simplification of the regulatory framework' in Uzbekistan with Latvian Ministry of Justice as junior partner. Project duration: 1 April 2024 to 31 July 2026, budget: 1.8 million EUR. Focuses on legislative systematization and impact assessment.
• HAUS Finnish Institute of Public ManagementmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2021IRZ operates as junior partner in EU Twinning project 'Peer-to-Peer Institutional Support to the Anti-Corruption Commission in Zambia' under HAUS leadership. The 36-month project (August 2021 - August 2024) has a budget of EUR 2 million and focuses on strengthening ACC management and technical capacity.
• Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe BMJV is IRZ's primary governmental backer and funding source. IRZ operates under the umbrella of the Federal Ministry of Justice, implementing the German government's priorities in international legal cooperation. The ministry provides strategic direction and core funding for IRZ operations.
• Partner State Justice MinistriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIRZ works directly with justice ministries and legal institutions in 20+ partner countries including Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mauritania, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Senegal, Serbia, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zambia. Activities include advisory missions, training seminars, and capacity building programs.
• State University of Moldova (USM)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIRZ cooperates with State University of Moldova for joint summer school programs for young legal professionals, focusing on Moldovan Administrative Code and EU law integration.
• German Judicial Institutions and Professional BodiessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIRZ draws on expertise from German judicial academies (Deutsche Richterakademie, Justizakademie NRW), Federal Bar (BRAK), German Notaries Association (BNotK), German Institution of Arbitration (DIS), and other professional legal bodies for expert participation in missions and training programs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NIRAS: International consultancy implementing EU-funded rule-of-law and justice-sector projects (including Twinning contracts) across Eastern Europe, Western Balkans, and MENA. Direct competitor for legal-cooperation tenders with comparable service offerings.
• FIIAPP (Fundación Internacional y para Iberoamérica de Administración y Políticas Públicas): Spain's public-sector foundation for international public administration cooperation. Implements EU Twinning and PACT projects on rule of law, justice reform, and public administration, making it a direct competitor for legal-reform mandates in Latin America, EU candidate countries, and Mediterranean partners.
• Expertise France: France's national agency for international technical expertise, structurally analogous to IRZ. Implements EU Twinning projects and bilateral legal-cooperation programs funded by the French government, directly competing with IRZ for justice-sector tenders in francophone and EU-accession countries.

Broad incumbents

• UNDP (United Nations Development Programme): UN's global development network with significant rule-of-law, access-to-justice, and anti-corruption programming. Overlaps with IRZ in areas such as judicial reform and anti-corruption (cf. IRZ's Zambia ACC project) and competes for similar bilateral and multilateral donor budgets.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ): Germany's federal development agency and the dominant German implementer of international cooperation projects. GIZ is the closest peer to IRZ in terms of geography (Germany-based), funding sources (BMZ/BMJV), and bilateral legal-reform mandates, but operates on a vastly larger scale and broader mandate covering all development sectors.
• Council of Europe — Rule of Law activities: Pan-European intergovernmental body running major rule-of-law and judicial-reform programs (e.g., HELP, CEPEJ) that overlap directly with IRZ's mandate. Operates as a funder, convener, and direct implementer of legal-cooperation projects in many of the same partner countries.
• KfW Development Bank: German state-owned development bank funding legal and judicial reform projects as part of broader financial-cooperation mandates. Often partners with or co-funds programs alongside GIZ and IRZ-style implementers.

Regional players

• AICESIS / International Association of Economic and Social Councils: International body supporting advisory economic and social institutions, with comparable expertise-transfer and institutional-capacity-building activities for governments. Functions in an adjacent capacity-building niche to IRZ's rule-of-law work.
• British Council — Rule of Law programmes: UK public body running rule-of-law and judicial capacity-building programs in emerging markets. Comparable expertise-transfer model funded by FCDO and aligned to UK legal traditions, often overlapping with IRZ in Western Balkans and Commonwealth jurisdictions.

Others

• Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law: German academic institution producing comparative legal research and supporting legal-reform advisory work. While primarily a research body, it provides expert inputs and capacity-building activities that overlap with IRZ's knowledge-transfer mandate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/deutsche-stiftung-fuer-internationale-rechtliche-zusammenarbeit-e-v-irz
• Instagraminstagram.com/irz.de

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Deutsche Stiftung für internationale rechtliche Zusammenarbeit e.V. (IRZ)