The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law

What The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law does

The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ) is a non-profit international institute headquartered at the University of Malta's Valletta Campus, formally inaugurated on 18 June 2014 following its call for establishment at the June 2012 Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) Ministerial Plenary. It is a GCTF-Inspired Institution governed by a Governing Board of Administrators (14 members as of February 2024, including the European Union) and supported by an Advisory Board, operating as an autonomous body within the GCTF ecosystem. Its mission is to build the capacity of criminal justice practitioners — judges, prosecutors, investigators, examining magistrates, defence counsel, law enforcement officers, and prison/corrections officials — to counter terrorism and related transnational crime while upholding human rights and the rule of law.

The IIJ delivers its programming through three operating units. The Programmatic Unit designs and delivers short-form workshops across initiatives including the Addressing Homegrown Terrorism Initiative, Global Central Authorities Initiative, Investigations Initiative, Judicial Capacity-Building Initiative, Juvenile Justice Initiative, Returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters Initiative, Battlefield Evidence Workstream, REMVE Initiative, Gender Dynamics in Terrorism, and Counter-Terrorism Financing. The Academic Unit runs CTAC, a two-week in-person foundational course capped at 25 participants, and eCTAC, the online equivalent capped at 20 practitioners. The CT PHARE facility, launched in March 2023 under the European Commission's Foreign Policy Instruments service, is a three-year EU-funded program with four workstreams focused on oversight and accountability mechanisms, human rights protection (including the five-stage Human Rights-Based Decision-Making Model), pre-trial detention and fair trial rights, and EU delegation support. Supporting these are an extensive content library of GCTF framework documents and practitioner toolkits (Rabat-Washington Good Practices, IIJ Good Practices for Central Authorities, The Hague Memorandum, the Juvenile Justice Toolkit, the REMVE Practitioner's Guide) and a dedicated Alumni Network portal.

The institute's business model is grant-funded rather than commercially revenue-generating. Capacity-building services are delivered at no cost to beneficiary practitioners and countries; funding flows from project-specific grants by government donors — including the European Union, Government of Canada, Government of Japan, Government of the Netherlands, plus the US, UK, Australia, Germany, and Türkiye — and in-kind support from the Government of Malta through the University of Malta Valletta Campus lease secured for 15 years in January 2019. Geographic focus is North, West and East Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, with additional engagement across Central, South and Southeast Asia, the Balkans, and other regions; the alumni network exceeds 7,000 practitioners from 123+ countries.

Name

The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law

Legal name

The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law

Website

https://theiij.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ) is a Malta-based, GCTF-Inspired non-profit delivering counter-terrorism and rule of law capacity-building training for criminal justice practitioners across 123+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Counter-Terrorism Training and Capacity Building

NAICS

Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (922)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Rule of Law, Justice & Corrections Support in Conflict Settings (BPADAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Peace, Security Sector Reform & Stabilization Programs (BPADABAH)

Keywords

• Counter-terrorism training
• Rule of law capacity building
• Criminal justice education
• Judicial capacity building
• Human rights training

Headquarters

HQ city

Valletta

HQ country

Malta

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding and Donor Support: The IIJ operates primarily through grant funding from government donors and international organizations. Major donors include Canada, EU, Japan, Netherlands, and various other governments. Funding supports specific projects, capacity-building activities, and operational costs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The IIJ designs and delivers tailored capacity-building programs for criminal justice practitioners worldwide, focused on countering terrorism and transnational crime within a rule of law and human rights framework. Core deliverables include the in-person CTAC foundational course, the online eCTAC curriculum, and the EU-funded CT PHARE facility, complemented by short-form thematic workshops and practitioner toolkits.

Product overview

The IIJ is a capacity-building institution that offers a portfolio of training programs and initiatives to enhance the competencies of criminal justice practitioners to address terrorism within a rule of law framework. Its core products include: CTAC (Counter-Terrorism Academic Curriculum) - an in-person two-week foundational course; eCTAC - an innovative online curriculum for proactive investigations and prosecutions; CT PHARE - a human rights engagement platform; the Programmatic Unit delivering short-form workshops across multiple initiatives (homegrown terrorism, investigations, judicial capacity, juvenile justice, counter-terrorism financing, REMVE, battlefield evidence, etc.); the Academic Unit delivering longer-form courses; and an Administration & Outreach Unit supporting operations. The organization also maintains an Alumni Network portal for practitioners who have completed training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CT PHARE (Platform for Human Rights Engagement Facility): CT PHARE is an EU-funded global facility under the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) of the European Commission, providing human rights-based counter-terrorism capacity building activities including policy and institutional support to beneficiary countries and regions.
• CTAC (Counter-Terrorism Academic Curriculum)
• eCTAC (online Counter-Terrorism Academic Curriculum)

Products and services

• CTAC (Counter-Terrorism Academic Curriculum) An in-person, two-week foundational course designed to build the knowledge and skills of investigators, prosecutors, and examining judges to pursue criminal justice approaches to countering terrorism through a rule of law framework. The course includes participant-based learning with simulated investigation and prosecution exercises, with no more than 25 participants per cohort. For criminal justice practitioners worldwide, primarily from Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
• eCTAC (Online Counter-Terrorism Academic Curriculum) An innovative online curriculum course designed for investigators, prosecutors, and examining judges that builds capacity for proactive investigations and prosecutions of terrorism cases, covering special investigative techniques, inter-agency coordination, and international cooperation. Limited to a maximum of 20 participating practitioners per cohort. For criminal justice practitioners who cannot attend in-person CTAC.
• CT PHARE (Counter-Terrorism Platform for Human Rights Engagement) A three-year global facility implemented under the EU Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) providing human rights-based counter-terrorism capacity building activities and policy and institutional support to beneficiary countries. Operates across four workstreams: oversight and accountability mechanisms, human rights in military responses, pre-trial detention and fair trial rights, and EU delegation requests. For government officials, oversight bodies, and EU delegations in beneficiary countries.
• Programmatic Unit Capacity-Building Workshops Short-form capacity-building workshops addressing specific and emerging threats in the counter-terrorism and rule of law fields, delivered through initiatives on homegrown terrorism, global central authorities, investigations, judicial capacity, juvenile justice, returning foreign terrorist fighters, mutual legal assistance, battlefield evidence, racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism, gender dynamics, and counter-terrorism financing. For criminal justice practitioners, policymakers, and oversight bodies in beneficiary countries.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 7,000 alumni from 123+ countries trained through IIJ programs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

26 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2020GCERF is a global fund based in Geneva that strengthens community resilience by supporting local initiatives to address the drivers of violent extremism. In December 2020, the IIJ and GCERF, fellow GCTF-Inspired Institutions, signed a memorandum of understanding formalizing and enhancing their institutional partnership.
• United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2020The IIJ signed a memorandum of understanding with UNOCT in September 2020 formalizing and articulating a forward vision for their partnership. The agreement provides a framework for enhancing cooperation to support implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, relevant UN General Assembly and Security Council Resolutions, and GCTF good practices.
• GCTF (Global Counterterrorism Forum)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2014The GCTF is an international platform of 30 members (29 countries and the European Union) with a mission to reduce the vulnerability of people worldwide to terrorism. The IIJ works closely with GCTF Co-Chairs Canada and Morocco, and the Forum's Administrative Unit, to support the GCTF mission and the development and implementation of GCTF good practices and tools. The IIJ was called for establishment at the GCTF Ministerial Plenary Meeting in June 2012.
• HedayahcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2014Based in Abu Dhabi, Hedayah is an International Center of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism, and a key operational delivery arm for the GCTF's CVE efforts. It is a GCTF-Inspired Institution.
• United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN CTED is a UN body that works to enhance the delivery of the Counter-Terrorism Committee's mandate by conducting analytical and thematic reviews of member states' implementation of Security Council resolutions.
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe IIJ partnered with UNODC on a Remote Access to Justice project under the IIJ Judicial Capacity-Building Initiative.
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNDP partners with the IIJ to support implementation of development and capacity-building initiatives.
• United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNICRI collaborates with the IIJ on criminal justice and counter-terrorism initiatives.
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOHCHR partners with the IIJ to ensure human rights compliance in counter-terrorism capacity-building.
• United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIIJ signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with UNAFEI in May 2023.
• European Judicial Training NetworkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA group of organisations that pledged in June 2014 to work collaboratively to support and ensure the success of the IIJ.
• Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA group of organisations that pledged in June 2014 to work collaboratively to support and ensure the success of the IIJ.
• African Center for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerValletta Partner that pledged in June 2014 to work collaboratively to support the IIJ.
• CEELI InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerValletta Partner that pledged in June 2014 to work collaboratively to support the IIJ.
• Global Center on Cooperative SecuritymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerValletta Partner that pledged in June 2014 to work collaboratively to support the IIJ.
• Institute for Security Studies (ISS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerValletta Partner that pledged in June 2014 to work collaboratively to support the IIJ.
• International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerValletta Partner that pledged in June 2014 to work collaboratively to support the IIJ. IIJ collaborates with ICCT on workshops for MENA and Francophone African countries.
• Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human RightsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerValletta Partner that pledged in June 2014 to work collaboratively to support the IIJ.
• Kuwait Institute for Judicial and Legal Studies (KIJLS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerValletta Partner. The IIJ & KIJLS signed an MoU in December 2025.
• Arab Interior Ministers Council (AIMC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerValletta Partner. The IIJ & AIMC signed an MoU in March 2025.
• Centre de Formation Judiciaire (CFJ)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerValletta Partner. The IIJ & CFJ signed an MoU in May 2025.
• General Secretariat of the League of Arab States (LAS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerValletta Partner. The IIJ & LAS signed an MoU.
• Centre of Excellence Defence Against Terrorism (CoE-DAT)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerValletta Partner. The IIJ & CoE-DAT signed an MoU on 22 December 2025 to formalize and strengthen their cooperation.
• The Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerValletta Partner that pledged in June 2014 to work collaboratively to support the IIJ.
• Institut Supérieur De La Magistrature (ISM)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerValletta Partner that pledged in June 2014 to work collaboratively to support the IIJ.
• University of MaltacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe IIJ and University of Malta secured a future 15-year lease for the IIJ's headquarters at the University's Valletta campus in January 2019.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT): UNOCT coordinates UN counter-terrorism efforts and is the IIJ's partner under a 2020 MoU. As the UN system-wide coordinator, UNOCT is a broad incumbent whose policy frameworks the IIJ helps implement through training.
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC): UNODC is a large UN entity delivering rule-of-law and counter-terrorism programming globally, including the Remote Access to Justice project jointly with the IIJ. As a broader intergovernmental incumbent with overlapping mandate areas (terrorism prevention, justice), it operates at much larger scale but addresses adjacent parts of the same capacity-building agenda.

Direct peers

• Hedayah: Hedayah is the International Center of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism based in Abu Dhabi and a fellow GCTF-Inspired Institution. It is the closest peer to the IIJ: both deliver capacity-building and training programs implementing GCTF frameworks, with Hedayah focused on prevention/CVE and IIJ on the criminal justice pillar.
• Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF): GCERF is a Geneva-based global fund and GCTF-Inspired Institution that finances local initiatives to address drivers of violent extremism. It is a directly comparable peer to IIJ within the GCTF-Inspired Institution ecosystem, with a formal MoU partnership and overlapping donor and beneficiary geographies.
• United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI): UNICRI is a UN entity focused on crime and justice research and capacity building. It collaborates with the IIJ on criminal justice and counter-terrorism initiatives, and operates a comparable model of intergovernmental research-driven programming for practitioners.
• Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights: Siracusa is an Italian-based institute delivering criminal justice and human rights training programs for practitioners from around the world. As a Valletta Partner of the IIJ, it is a closely comparable capacity-building institute with overlapping practitioner audiences and programme themes.
• International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT): ICCT is a The Hague-based think tank that contributes to evidence-based counter-terrorism policy and provides expert input to practitioners and policymakers. It is a Valletta Partner of the IIJ and collaborates on workshops for MENA and Francophone African countries, making it a closely comparable peer in the counter-terrorism knowledge and capacity space.
• African Center for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT): ACSRT is an African Union Centre of Excellence coordinating African member-state counter-terrorism capacity and research. As a Valletta Partner of the IIJ, it is a directly comparable peer with overlapping beneficiary countries (especially across Africa) and complementary rather than competing mandates.
• UNAFEI (United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders): UNAFEI is a Tokyo-based UN institute providing criminal justice capacity-building programs with a regional focus on Asia and the Far East. It signed an MoC with the IIJ in May 2023 and operates a comparable institute model delivering practitioner training under UN auspices.

Emerging players

• CEELI Institute: CEELI is a Prague-based institute focused on judicial and legal capacity building in Central and Eastern Europe and emerging democracies. It is a Valletta Partner of the IIJ and operates a comparable practitioner training model, though its thematic focus is broader rule-of-law rather than counter-terrorism-specific.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/iijmalta
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCknrRWLXjC29hziJfnjtD6g
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-institute-for-justice-and-the-rule-of-law

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law