Access to justice
{{Short description|Legal principle}}
Access to justice is a basic principle in rule of law which describes how citizens should have equal access to the justice system{{Cite web |last=Rashid |first=Norul Mohamed |title=Access to Justice |url=https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/thematic-areas/access-to-justice-and-rule-of-law-institutions/access-to-justice/ |access-date=2022-03-21 |website=United Nations and the Rule of Law |language=en-US}} and/or other justice services so that they can effectively resolve their justice problems. Without access to justice, people are not able to fully exercise their rights, challenge discrimination, or hold decision-makers accountable for their actions.{{cite web |title=Access to Justice |url=https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/thematic-areas/access-to-justice-and-rule-of-law-institutions/access-to-justice/ |website=United Nations and the Rule of Law |publisher=United Nations |access-date=12 May 2019}}
"Providing access to justice for all" was adopted as a universal ambition, when it became part of SDG16, one of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. In the context of SDG16 a conceptual model for the global Justice Gap was developed{{Cite web |title=Task Force on Justice ¦ Justice for All Report |url=https://www.justice.sdg16.plus/report-old2022 |access-date=2023-03-29 |website=Justice Task Force |language=en}} and it was estimated that "5.1 billion people - or two thirds of the world population - do not have meaningful access to justice globally".{{Cite web |title=Measuring the Justice Gap |url=https://worldjusticeproject.org/our-work/research-and-data/access-justice/measuring-justice-gap |access-date=2023-03-29 |website=World Justice Project |language=en}} Recognizing the size of the justice gap, an approach to justice sector governance and reform was developed call people-centered justice.
The manner in which countries ensure that all people have access to justice varies. Access to justice may be increased through properly funded and staffed legal aid organizations that provide free legal services to the poor,{{cite web |title=Resource Center for Access to Justice Initiatives |url=https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_aid_indigent_defendants/resource_center_for_access_to_justice/ |website=American Bar Association |access-date=12 May 2019}} and through pro bono programs through which volunteer attorneys provide services and representation,{{cite web |title=Pro Bono and Volunteer Programs |url=https://www.ncsc.org/microsites/access-to-justice/home/Topics/Pro-Bono-and-Volunteer-Programs.aspx |website=Center on Court Access to Justice for All |publisher=National Center for State Courts |access-date=12 May 2019 |archive-date=12 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512014054/https://www.ncsc.org/microsites/access-to-justice/home/Topics/Pro-Bono-and-Volunteer-Programs.aspx |url-status=dead }} or through other programs designed to help people gain. Access to justice is a broad concept that includes legal remedies in courts but also in other institutions of justice.{{cite web |title=Necessary Condition: Access to Justice |url=https://www.usip.org/guiding-principles-stabilization-and-reconstruction-the-web-version/rule-law/access-justice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413093423/http://www.usip.org/guiding-principles-stabilization-and-reconstruction-the-web-version/rule-law/access-justice |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 13, 2010 |website=United States: Institute of Peace |access-date=12 May 2019}}
Empirical research into access to justice has increased in the past decade,Catherine R. Albiston; Rebecca L. Sandefur, "Expanding the Empirical Study of Access to Justice," Wisconsin Law Review 2013, no. 1 (2013): 101-120 by academics in the field of sociology of law, by researchers working for national or global policy-makers and through legal needs surveys and other efforts to collect people-centered justice data.{{Cite web |title=Grasping the Justice Gap: Opportunities and Challenges for People-Centered Justice Data |url=https://worldjusticeproject.org/news/grasping-justice-gap-opportunities-and-challenges-people-centered-justice-data |access-date=2023-03-29 |website=World Justice Project |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Toll |first1=Mathew |last2=Li |first2=Ang |last3=Maystorovich Chulio |first3=Natalia |title=COVID-19 lockdowns and children's access to justice: An interrupted time series analysis of Moroccan court filings |journal=Child Protection and Practice |date=2024 |volume=2 |page=100050 |doi=10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100050 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193824000500?via%3Dihub|doi-access=free }}
International initiatives
= Free Access to Law Movement =
{{main|Free Access to Law Movement}}
The Free Access to Law Movement (FALM) was founded in 1992, with the goal of providing free online access to basic legal information and resources. In 2002, FALM adopted the Declaration on Free Access to Law. The goal of the movement has been to ensure that legal information is freely available to everyone. The declaration declared public legal information to be the common heritage of mankind.
The member organizations of FALM, primarily through the Internet, engaged in widespread publication of primary and secondary legal information. Early examples include the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School and the Australasian Legal Information Institute, a joint project of the University of Technology Sydney and the University of New South Wales. The latter involved early adoption of hypertext technology to represent laws as a network of nodes, each representing a section.[http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Legal_Information_Institutes.htm Legal_Information_Institutes.htm]{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/austlii/articles/libs_paper.html|title=AustLII - Publications: AustLII - Libs Paper|work=austlii.edu.au|access-date=26 December 2016}}
In 2013, Cornell Law School established the Journal of Open Access to Law, to promote international research on the topic of open access to law.{{cite web|url=https://ojs.law.cornell.edu/index.php/joal|title=Journal of Open Access to Law|work=cornell.edu|access-date=26 December 2016}}
Initiatives by country
= Japan =
Japan Legal Support Center, which is abbreviated as JLSC, provides a legal access to justice in any place in Japan.{{Cite web |title=Japan Legal Support Center｜法テラス |url=https://www.houterasu.or.jp/en/index.html |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=www.houterasu.or.jp}} JLSC was founded on April 10, 2006 and started its operation on October 2, 2006.
JLSC has 50 local offices and 11 branch offices of the local offices.
= Myanmar =
MyJustice is a European Union-funded Access to Justice Initiative aiming to equip the people of Myanmar with the knowledge, confidence and opportunities to resolve conflicts fairly, equitably and justly.{{Cite web|url=https://myjusticemyanmar.org/about|title=About {{!}} MyJustice Myanmar|website=myjusticemyanmar.org|access-date=2020-04-17}} Since 2015 they have setting up a number of "justice centres" across Myanmar to improve access to justice by offering free legal advice to low-income and marginalised people, as well as being involved in projects relating to the introduction of legal aid and legal training.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mmtimes.com/news/union-legal-aid-board-provide-help-poor-people-pilot-project.html|title=Union Legal Aid Board to provide help for poor people in pilot project|date=2018-05-07|website=The Myanmar Times|access-date=2020-04-17|archive-date=2021-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129192658/https://www.mmtimes.com/news/union-legal-aid-board-provide-help-poor-people-pilot-project.html|url-status=dead}}
= Pakistan =
Access to Justice Initiatives (AJI) are a cluster of projects carried out by the Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, which aim at enhancing legal awareness and empowering citizens at the grass-roots level by enabling them to lobby for their rights and seek remedies for their legal problems.{{Cite news|url=http://epaper.dawn.com/print-textview.php?StoryImage=26_07_2016_152_006|title=Call to enhance role of paralegals for protection of human rights|last=Kundi|first=Asma|date=26 July 2016|newspaper=DAWN|access-date=29 October 2016|archive-date=30 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030000500/http://epaper.dawn.com/print-textview.php?StoryImage=26_07_2016_152_006|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/glei-description-092712.pdf|title=Global Legal Empowerment Initiative|date=2014|publisher=Open Society Justice Initiative}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/174699-Training-in-basic-laws-alternative-dispute-resolution-concludes|title=Training in basic laws & alternative dispute resolution concludes|date=27 December 2016|publisher=The News International}}
== Configuration ==
Access to Justice Initiatives comprises the following projects:{{Cite web|url=http://www.srsp.org.pk/srsp-main/index.php/our-projects/access-to-justice-initiative|title=Access to Justice Initiatives|date=2016|publisher=Sarhad Rural Support Programme|access-date=2016-10-29|archive-date=2017-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819124228/http://srsp.org.pk/srsp-main/index.php/our-projects/access-to-justice-initiative|url-status=dead}}
- Legal Empowerment
- Aitebaar Alternate Dispute Resolution
- Aitebaar Awareness Rising
- Strengthening Rule of Law in Malakand
- Community Based Conflict Resolution
== Features ==
A common feature of the projects is that they all aim at strengthening the capacity of the disadvantaged communities to protect their rights and to participate and hold public institutions accountable.{{Cite book|title=Sarhad Rural Support Programme Annual Review 2014-2015|publisher=M.R Printers, Islamabad|year=2015|location=Islamabad|pages=16}} In traditional hierarchical societies, civil society organisations face challenges in promoting access to services for marginalized and vulnerable groups.{{Cite web|url=http://wanainstitute.org/sites/default/files/files/Conference%20program%20-%20FINAL%20VERSION%20FOR%20PRINT.pdf|title=Legal Empowerment: A platform for resilience, innovation and growth.|date=12 June 2014|publisher=WANA Institute}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/openglobalrights/lotta-teale/how-to-pay-for-legal-empowerment-alternative-structures-and-sources|title=How to pay for legal empowerment: alternative structures and sources|last=Teale|first=Lotta|date=2016-12-01|website=Open Democracy|access-date=2016-12-01|archive-date=2017-12-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224212200/https://www.opendemocracy.net/openglobalrights/lotta-teale/how-to-pay-for-legal-empowerment-alternative-structures-and-sources|url-status=dead}}
The projects seek to addresses issues of weak links among justice mechanisms and a lack of reliable legal support.{{Cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/542254/conference-practical-steps-to-protect-legal-rights-of-rural-communities/|title=Conference: Practical steps to protect legal rights of rural communities.|date=2013-04-30|newspaper=The Express Tribune|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1134253/newspaper/column|title=Initiative to strengthen alternative dispute resolution system|date=25 September 2014|newspaper=DAWN}} Some of the projects focus on the informal justice institutions so that alternative dispute resolution methods can be used to settle disputes at community level, while helping to create a forum for dialogue between the formal and informal mechanisms.{{Cite news|url=http://reliefweb.int/report/pakistan/marc-andr%C3%A9-franche-country-director-undp-pakistan-visited-swat|title=Marc-André Franche, Country Director, UNDP in Pakistan visited Swat|date=2013-07-08|newspaper=Relief Web|language=en}} Members of the communities are trained as paralegals to bridge the gap between the most vulnerable members of society and the state institutions. In remote and backward areas of Pakistan the public at large is reluctant in trusting the police or lawyers but shows greater inclination in trusting notables of their own communities,{{Cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1273271/call-to-enhance-role-of-paralegals-for-protection-of-human-rights|title=Call to enhance role of paralegals for protection of human rights|last=Kundi|first=Asma|date=2016-07-26|newspaper=DAWN}} who often resolve disputes via the Jirga system.{{Cite web|url=http://dailytimes.com.pk/khyber-pakhtunkhwa/24-Dec-16/srl-arranges-workshop-for-capacity-building-of-drcs-representatives|title=SRL arranges workshop for capacity building of DRCs representatives|date=24 December 2016|publisher=Daily Times}} The paralegals and mediators are briefed about human rights, legal system and the limits of their authority in solving complicated disputes.{{Cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1303978/drcs-members-briefed-about-legal-system|title=DRCs’ members briefed about legal system|date=2016-12-23|newspaper=DAWN}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1304211/dir-nazim-assures-drcs-of-his-support|title=Dir nazim assures DRCs of his support|date=2016-12-24|newspaper=DAWN}}{{Cite news|url=http://nation.com.pk/national/28-Dec-2016/role-of-drcs-highlighted|title=Role of DRCs highlighted|date=28 December 2016|newspaper=The Nation|language=en-US}} This ensures that rights of the participants are not forfeited. The Dispute Resolution Councils (DRC’s) set up in this respect are required to work in collaboration the local police to ensure transparency and efficiency.{{Cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1304684/training-for-drc-members-concludes|title=Training for DRC members concludes|date=27 December 2016|newspaper=DAWN}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1305639/work-of-shangla-drcs-reviewed|title=Work of Shangla DRCs reviewed|date=1 January 2016|newspaper=DAWN}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1305317/role-of-drcs-in-peoples-access-to-justice-highlighted|title=Role of DRCs in people’s access to justice highlighted|date=30 December 2016|newspaper=DAWN}} A significant number of women have been trained as mediators and paralegal to make the programme more receptive to women.{{Cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/771086/step-aside-men-women-mediators-trained-in-alternative-dispute-resolution/|title=Step aside men: Women mediators trained in alternative dispute resolution.|date=2014-10-04|newspaper=The Express Tribune|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=http://pakobserver.net/dispute-resolution-council-training-workshop-ends/|title=Dispute Resolution Council training workshop ends|date=31 December 2016|newspaper=Pakistan Observer|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102171936/http://pakobserver.net/dispute-resolution-council-training-workshop-ends/|archive-date=2 January 2017|url-status=dead}}
Legal aid is provided to individuals whose troubles cannot be resolved through negotiation, conciliation, mediation or other informal method's. Very often, case which merit legal aid involve issues of child marriage, forced marriage, matrimonial cruelty, child custody, deprivation of inheritance, discrimination etc.{{Cite web|url=https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/how-access-justice-helping-women-northern-pakistan|title=Starting a New Story: How Access to Justice Is Untangling Women's Lives in Northern Pakistan|date=28 May 2014|website=Open Society Foundations}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/delivering-access-justice-mountains-pakistan|title=Linking Justice to Development in Northern Pakistan|date=9 June 2014|website=Open Society Foundations}}
= United States =
The current largest initiative to solve the Access to Justice issue in the U.S., is Legal Services Corporation. They are a non-profit funded by congress. {{Cite web |title=Who We Are {{!}} LSC - Legal Services Corporation: America's Partner for Equal Justice |url=https://www.lsc.gov/about-lsc/who-we-are |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=www.lsc.gov |language=en}} Currently, they fund 130 independent non-profits, with them spanning 800 offices around the country.{{Cite web |title=Our Grantees {{!}} LSC - Legal Services Corporation: America's Partner for Equal Justice |url=https://www.lsc.gov/grants/our-grantees#:~:text=LSC%20is%20an%20independent%20nonprofit,of%20Columbia,%20and%20U.S.%20Territories. |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=www.lsc.gov |language=en}} In the fiscal year (FY) of 2024 they were given $560 million by congress.
Because the traditional model for delivery services demanded all legal work to be done in a bespoke manner the supply of legal services is generally inelastic. Households that are ineligible for legal aid but are not able to easily afford bespoke legal services are effectively underserved by the traditional model. A report by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services found that "among moderate-income households, 39% used the legal system to attempt resolution of their legal problems, 23% attempted resolution without legal help, and 26% took no action."{{cite web|url=http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/delivery/deltech.html|title=Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services - Standing Committee / Delivery of Legal Services|work=abanet.org|access-date=26 December 2016|archive-date=14 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214004408/http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/delivery/deltech.html|url-status=dead}}
== Limited Legal Assistance ==
Unfortunately due to the lack of funding most legal nonprofits have to turn more clients away than they take in for direct legal representation.{{Cite journal |last=Minow |first=Martha |date=2022 |title=ACCESS TO JUSTICE |url=https://doi.org/10.1162/ajle_a_00039 |journal=American Journal of Law and Equality |volume=2 |pages=293–311 |doi=10.1162/ajle_a_00039 |issn=2694-5711|doi-access=free }} So, a cost effective way of providing legal assistance is through limited legal assistance. This can range from help from a trained non-lawyer with court documents such as a paralegal, a self help center in a courthouse, or a phone call with an attorney giving you advice over your situation.{{Cite journal |last=Barton |first=Benjamin H. |last2=Rhode |first2=Deborah |date=2018 |title=Access to Justice and Routine Legal Services: New Technologies Meet Bar Regulators |url=https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3183738 |journal=SSRN Electronic Journal |doi=10.2139/ssrn.3183738 |issn=1556-5068|url-access=subscription }} It enables non-profits to help more people, while also remedying the issue of limited funds.
==Technological solutions==
Lawyers, designers, and computers scientists have considered ways to use technology to improve access to justice for people who cannot afford a lawyer.See CodeX Techindex. Stanford Law School, n.d. Web. 16 June 2017.
There are numerous university-based programs working at the intersection of access to justice and technology:
The Georgetown University Law Center started a Judicial Innovation Fellowship program in the fall of 2022. The novel program will place private industry technologists in state and tribal courts to develop new software that improves the public's access to justice and court administration. {{Cite web|url=https://www.dayoneproject.org/ideas/creating-a-judicial-innovation-fellowship-to-strengthen-america-s-court-infrastructure-and-improve-access-to-justice/|title=Creating a Judicial Innovation Fellowship to Strengthen America’s Court Infrastructure and Improve Access to Justice {{!}} Day One Project|website=Day One Project|access-date=August 22, 2022}}
The Berkman Center at Harvard Law School has been working with Massachusetts housing court judge Dina Fein to design access to civil justice in the state for pro se litigants, low-income people, litigants who aren't proficient in English, and people with disabilities.{{cite web|url=http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/6853|title=Technology and Access to Justice - Berkman Klein Center|work=harvard.edu|access-date=26 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140205134041/http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/6853|archive-date=5 February 2014|url-status=dead}} CodeX, the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, hosts projects such as Legal.io and Ravel Law, addressing the application of legal informatics to access to justice issues, and convenes a community bringing researchers, lawyers, entrepreneurs and technologists together to work side-by-side to advance the frontier of legal technology.{{Cite web|url=https://law.stanford.edu/codex-the-stanford-center-for-legal-informatics/|title=CodeX {{!}} Stanford Law School|last=School|first=Stanford Law|website=Stanford Law School|access-date=May 31, 2016}}
Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT's) Institute of Design and the Chicago-Kent College of Law collaborated on a multi-year redesign of self-represented litigants' court experience. Their 2002 report documented their investigation of current assistance systems, creation of a new design protocol, and plan for a new system design.{{Cite web |url=http://www.kentlaw.iit.edu/Documents/Institutes%20and%20Centers/CAJT/access-to-justice-meeting-the-needs.pdf |title=Charles L. Owen, Edward B. Pedwell, and Ronald W. Staudt, "Access to Justice: Meeting the Needs of Self-Represented Litigants", 2002 |access-date=2019-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232805/http://www.kentlaw.iit.edu/Documents/Institutes%20and%20Centers/CAJT/access-to-justice-meeting-the-needs.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead }} The report also puts forward a number of concept designs, reimagining how the court system may work and people may access it. Some of their proposals include:
- "CourtNet", a network inside the court building, to link together judicial staff and the public;
- "Interactive Translator", a software tool that can be used in interviewing and court exchanges, able to translate verbal and text communications into different languages;
- "Archetypes", a diagnosis platform that models users' legal problems, classifies them, and offers referral services;
- "Pursuit Evaluator", an online tool to allow potential litigants evaluate whether pursuing a case would be worth their time, money, and effort
- "Complaint Formulator", an electronic interface to let litigants extract data from their problem situation and assemble it into various legal documents;
- "Informer", software that uses sample cases to help litigants model their own forms and teaches them how to file correctly; and
- "Case Tracker", an interactive searchable archive of a litigant's case history, that provides a clear timeline and reference to past actions.