Beyond America
But some of his most meaningful contributions may be those which reach beyond the borders of the United States altogether. He has been involved in drafting constitutions and other legislation for countries such as Moldova, Albania and Belarus.
When Romanians looked to the West for advice on how best to govern themselves following the 1989 revolution that overthrew long-time dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, they called on Barry Fisher. Fisher, who has served as general counsel to the United States Romani Council, travelled to Romania to advise scholars, politicians, judges and others on the drafting of their constitution. He was later consulted by the American Bar Association’s Central and East European Law Initiative (CEELI) to review the draft constitution produced by the Romanian parliamentary commission.
CEELI member Bob O’Neil described the group of prominent legal scholars who joined Fisher in reviewing and commenting upon the draft constitution as a “cooperative effort to support and facilitate law reform” in Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Poland. The group also focused on criminal law reform and judicial independence.
The core of his advice to the Romanians was not surprising. “[I told them] the strength of any new constitution is how willing you are to give political rights and judicial review to ethnic, religious and racial minorities,” he said.
Wherever his work has taken him, Fisher’s toils have had a common thread: championing religious freedom and tolerance. As one attorney put it, “History will bear him out as one who enhanced the spiritual strength of both America and the 
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