GOVERNANCE NOTES NOVEMBER 2019 No.19 RAISING AWARENESS AND IMPROVING ACCESS TO JUSTICE: LESSONS FROM SERBIA Prepared by Marina Matic and Runyararo Gladys Senderayi The importance of ensuring access to justice is universally without a MLAC. However, according to an access to justice acknowledged as a global priority. A system that does not survey, 82 percent of respondents were not able to name a single ensure effective access leaves citizens in situations where they organization or institution that provides legal aid free of charge, are unable to exercise their fundamental rights and protect even when a MLAC was present in their municipality (World Bank their best interests. The European Union (EU) places the rights 2015). to an effective remedy and to a fair trial at the heart of its Moreover, if a citizen cannot afford an attorney, the member states’ priorities. Access to justice is a prerequisite for specificities of the justice system place unrepresented litigants at states wishing to join the EU (EU 2012). a disadvantage. While self-represented litigants usually receive Around 4 billion people worldwide live outside of the legal some guidance from judges during the proceedings, instructions system, without enough knowledge about their rights and the in the form of lay guides or checklists are seldom available. legal tools available to protect them (OECD and OSF 2016). As Unsurprisingly, based on a multistakeholder survey conducted a result, insecurity and lack of trust in the judiciary dissuade in 2013/2014, respondents who represented themselves had citizens from engaging in economic activities. Communities judgments go against them in a higher percentage of cases experience negative impacts, and the situation worsens for low (60 percent) than those represented by a private attorney (44 economic status and socially excluded groups (UNDP 2005). percent) (World Bank and MDTF-JSS 2014b). Every state has an obligation to ensure access to justice in Finally, surveys demonstrate that awareness of the law a way that protects and promotes the right to a fair trial and is very low among the general population. In the 2013 Anti- effective legal assistance. Better access to information is one Corruption Agency Court User Survey, nearly half of the way of improving access to justice for citizens. This Governance respondents reported they were uninformed about the procedure Note shares lessons learned from a technical assistance that brought them to court (World Bank and MDTF-JSS 2014a). package implemented in partnership with stakeholders and the Additionally, focus group discussions suggest that people — government of Serbia that could be applied in other countries. regardless of their education, general awareness, or computer literacy — often do not know where to look for regulations and ACCESS TO JUSTICE IN SERBIA lack practical information that could help them uphold their In Serbia, costly court processes constrain access to justice. rights. This knowledge vacuum significantly impedes their access Nearly 63 percent of the general public reported they were to justice. unlikely to pursue a dispute they believed could be settled In partnership with the Lawyers’ Committee for Human in court, overwhelmingly citing fear of costs as a deterrent, Rights (YUCOM),1 the World Bank finalized a technical assistance according to the Serbia Judicial Functional Review (World Bank package that supported the government of Serbia in its efforts and MDTF-JSS 2014a). to enhance access to justice. The approach combined the Bank’s Although parties financially unable to cover court-related experience in justice reform, YUCOM’s regional engagement costs can apply for exemptions, citizens have little awareness in EU policy dialogue on access to justice, and input from local and understanding of this option. Furthermore, the court fee stakeholders. waiver program is unstructured, with limited oversight and The team worked closely with Serbian justice stakeholders, monitoring. The result is inconsistent application across courts including courts, prosecutors’ offices, police, government and cases (Nedic 2016). agencies, academia representatives, local civil society Research has shown that Serbian citizens are largely organizations (CSOs), and MLACs to disseminate information unaware of free legal services that might be available to them. and reach different population segments, including vulnerable As many as 46 municipalities out of 145 in Serbia have Municipal groups. Lessons from Serbia can be applied in other countries Legal Aid Centers (MLACs), and another 10 provide legal aid interested in pursuing similar reforms. 1 For more information about the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights, see http://en.yucom.org.rs/. 1 GOVERNANCE NOTES NOVEMBER 2019 No.19 THE TOOLS in their municipalities. To ensure they could find out about To enhance access to justice for Serbian citizens, the team used institutions and organizations providing them, the type of aid a first-order intervention for legal empowerment — raising basic available, and who is eligible to benefit from these services, the legal awareness (OECD and OSF 2016). The use of guides and team updated an existing map of free legal aid services and other toolkits can consolidate relevant information in a clear, transferred it to a more accessible internet domain. understandable way to enhance citizens’ awareness of the law To facilitate access to justice and to expand the impact and and materially improve their access to justice. This benefit is use of the map, the team enhanced its visibility and accessibility especially true for those who perceive their lack of legal training by launching it on the web pages of different partners and as a barrier to enforcing their rights and those who do not uphold stakeholders, courts, legal aid CSOs, and other relevant state their rights simply because they are unaware that they are institutions. entitled to do so. In collaboration with various stakeholders, a series of guides The Guide for the Exercise of Right to a Court Interpreter — were designed, developed, and disseminated to address the Translator challenges identified in the judicial functional review. Each of four Information on the right to a court interpreter in Serbia was guides and their means of dissemination are described. scant. Court websites did not provide it, and often, courts did not comply with an obligation to hold a hearing in a language A Guide to Self-Representation — First Time in Court or at a understood by all parties, especially if it was a minority language. Courthouse To reach vulnerable groups and to enable access to justice for The guide provides basic legal information on, but does not non-Serbian and minority language speakers as well as the deaf, advocate, self-representation (YUCOM 2017). 2 Its objective is to mute, and blind, the team developed a guide on the right to a familiarize lay people with the judicial process to the greatest court interpreter. Its purpose was to provide relevant information extent possible and enhance citizens’ access to justice at a lower to all parties and ensure equal participation in civil procedures cost. The guide was disseminated widely to ensure availability (YUCOM 2018). and to increase access to information about the importance of To enhance impact and to reach a wider demographic, the access to justice. guide was translated into five languages. Leaflets summarizing It reached the relevant target groups following a massive pub- its contents were also translated and distributed. licity campaign conducted in cooperation with public institutions, including, but not limited to, courts and prosecutors’ offices, and GOING FORWARD through the participation of legal aid CSOs. An animated mov- Noting the relevance and replicability of this work, justice ie, on the guide’s contents and the way citizens can use it, was stakeholders across the region have expressed interest in similar created as part of the campaign and served as an interactive and support from the World Bank to establish initiatives to enhance accessible way to reach various demographic groups. access to justice. The tools developed by the team can be adapted to different country contexts with relative ease, and the Guide to Exemption from Court Fees: Fees in Civil Proceedings Bank can support client countries to conceptualize, implement, and How to Get Rid of Them and monitor mechanisms to improve access to justice. For This comprehensive guide explains the process for requesting example, the Bank is implementing a project to develop and an exemption from court fees, when applicable.3 Many litigants disseminate a self-representation guide for micro, small, and in Serbia were unaware of a waiver of court fees and costs, or medium-size enterprises as a way to improve commercial justice the process for submitting a waiver request, partly because in Bosnia and Herzegovina. information on exemptions was not consolidated. The team analyzed judicial practice and collated the information into a single user-friendly guide. Both hard and electronic copies were disseminated among relevant parties and stakeholders. Collecting information and sharing it with courts and law practitioners harmonized legal practice on exemptions and helped make relevant information more accessible. Interactive Map of Free Legal Aid Services Citizens lacked information about free legal aid services available 2 The First Time Guide is intended to be a living document. 3 For more information and a link to the guide (Serbian), visit http://www.mdtfjss.org.rs/en/mdtf_activities/2018/strengthening-affordability-of- justice-in-serbia-guide-for-exemption-of-court-fees#.XcYDntVOnDd. 2 GOVERNANCE NOTES NOVEMBER 2019 No.19 REFERENCES EU (European Union). 2012. Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. 26 October 2012, 2012/C 326/02. Brussels: EU. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:12012P/TXT&from=EN. Hardoon, Deborah, and Finn Heinrich. 2013. Global Corruption Barometer 2013. Berlin: Transparency International. https://www.transparency.org/gcb2013/report. Nedic, Blazo. 2016. Analysis: Court Fee Waiver System in the Republic of Serbia. Washington, DC: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/620581508172154992/Analysis-court-fee-waiver-system-in-the-Republic-of-Serbia. OECD and OSF (Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation and Open Society Foundation). 2016. Leveraging the SDGs for Inclusive Growth: Delivering Access to Justice for All. Issues Brief 2016. Paris: OECD. http://www.oecd.org/gov/delivering-access-to-justice-for-all.pdf. UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). 2005. Programming for Justice: Access for All — A Practitioner’s Guide to a Human Rights-Based Approach to Access to Justice. Bangkok: UNDP. https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/files/Justice_Guides_ProgrammingForJustice-AccessForAll.pdf. UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women). 2018. A Practitioner’s Toolkit on Women’s Access to Justice Programming. New York: UN Women, UNDP, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2018/wa2j-complete-toolkit-en. pdf?la=en&vs=2654&la=en&vs=2654. World Bank. 2015. Serbia — Access to Justice for Poor Women and Men. Washington, DC: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/769081467999139073/Serbia-Access-to-justice-for-poor-women-and-men. World Bank and MDTF-JSS (Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Justice Sector Support in Serbia). 2014a. Serbia Judicial Functional Review. Washington, DC: World Bank. http://www.mdtfjss.org.rs/archive/file/Serbia%20Judicial%20Functional%20Review-Full%20Report.pdf. ———. 2014b. Experiences and Perceptions of Justice in Serbia. Washington, DC: World Bank. http://www.mdtfjss.org.rs/archive/file/Experiences%20and%20Perceptions%20of%20Justice%20in%20Serbia%20-%20EN.pdf. YUCOM (Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights). 2017. A Guide: First Time in Court or at a Courthouse. Belgrade: YUCOM. http://www.mdtfjss.org.rs/archive/file/guide-first-time-at-court/A%20Guide%20-%20First%20Time%20in%20Court%20or%20 at%20a%20Courthouse%20-%20EN.pdf ———. 2018. The Guide for the Exercise of Right to a Court Interpreter — Translator. Belgrade: YUCOM. http://en.yucom.org.rs/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Vodic-za-ostvarivanje-prava-na-sudskog-tumaca-prevodioca-engleski.pdf. GOVERNANCE GLOBAL PRACTICE Guiding Results through Public Institutions Governance Notes captures knowledge derived from World Bank engagements and technical and financial assistance requests. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank. For more information, contact: govgplearns@worldbank.org. 3