90143 January 2014 – Number 115 BUILDING LEGAL AID SERVICES FROM THE GROUND UP: LEARNING FROM PILOT INITIATIVES IN JORDAN Paul Scott Prettitore1 Introduction: Like most governments, the Government of Jordan (GoJ) struggles with the provision of legal aid services – information, counseling and representation by a lawyer - to the poor. Jordanians have the legal right to state-sponsored services only for serious criminal cases, while the Jordan Bar Association tries to provide services for lesser crimes and civil cases. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have joined the pool of service providers. Yet legal aid remains much underutilized despite high demand, especially for family law (personal status) cases. These include divorce, alimony, child support and inheritance. The Jordanian CSO the Justice Center for Legal Aid (JCLA) provides legal aid via centers throughout Jordan, providing information and awareness to improving access to justice sector services based over 6,500 beneficiaries, counseling to 2,000 and on demand-side priorities and supported by legal representation to over 1,200 over the last community-driven implementation. This will be several years. accomplished by piloting legal aid centers (LACs) throughout the country with a mix of The Program: JCLA and the World Bank have service delivery models and extending services been cooperating in an effort to make legal aid to civil and family issues, where demand is most services more comprehensive, systematic and focused. In effect, the program is providing an sustainable. The program ‘Enhancing opportunity to extend services while Development of Community-Driven Legal Aid experimenting with different delivery models, to Services’ is supported by a grant from the Japan better fit legal aid to the needs of Jordan and Social Development Fund (JSDF), which follows make it more sustainable in the longer-term. An implementation of a JSDF Seed Fund grant that interim evaluation of this program, conducted in aided in identifying demand from poor October 2013, is providing opportunities to learn communities. The objective of the program is to from the experimentation with delivery service support legal empowerment of the poor by models. A Better Understanding of Demand and 1 Paul Scott Prettitore, Senior Public Sector Specialist, Public Priorities: Legal aid for civil and family cases Sector and Governance Unit (MNSPS), The Middle East and matters to the poor and may have a role in addressing North Africa Region, The World Bank (pprettitore@worldbank.org). This MENA K&L Quick Note poverty. Governments often prioritize legal aid was cleared Guenter Heidenhof, Sector Manager, MNSPS. for criminal matters. This is important due to the heavy penalties involved and is consistent prioritization will need to be made to maximize with international human rights standards. impact and enable proper training for legal aid However, civil and family law cases, while staff. These decisions would be helped by important from a justice perspective, may prove clearer policies on legal aid as a means to important in addressing poverty. The 2011 address poverty, better understanding of the Demand for Legal Aid Services household impact of different services, and a strategy for survey demonstrates the intersection of poverty using advocacy to reduce the number of and the justice sector.2 It suggests that poor disputes. persons are more likely to face legal disputes (68% of reported disputes are from the lowest There is considerable demand for legal aid services two quartiles of expenditure levels), more likely from the not-so-poor. Court-related and lawyer to avoid going to court when they have a fees are relatively high in Jordan so even those dispute, and are less likely to have a lawyer in not considered poor struggle with costs. Such court. The poor were also more likely to report individuals have regularly been approaching disputes involving civil and family law issues, JCLA for assistance, but fail to meet the particularly involving alimony, child custody eligibility criteria for free services. To help and inheritance cases.3 This is reaffirmed by the address this gap, JCLA has developed a sliding- JCLA’s caseload, where most beneficiaries seek scale payment system for the provision of assistance for family law and civil cases. and is services. Based on a financial assessment broadly consistent with global trends. applicants not meeting poverty criteria can receive services by making small payments that Prioritizing the focus of legal aid services is are considerably lower than they would pay in inevitable in the face of overwhelming demand. the private market. These beneficiaries would Deciding who should receive legal aid services also likely benefit from the development of self- is a difficult task. Demand eventually outstrips help tools, allowing them to represent supply. JCLA’s growing caseload is likely to themselves in court procedures when necessary. increase as outreach becomes more effective, forcing it to rationalize services and concentrate Building Partnerships: Data can be a useful tool in resources where impact may be greatest. Yet addressing turf battles between stakeholders. There this is difficult to do in the absence of is often a perception among justice sector information on impact of services or clear policy stakeholders that the pool of potential clients for objectives. JCLA has already stopped providing legal services is minimal and incapable of legal representation in uncontested divorce supporting multiple service providers, and that cases, a common type of case where it is free legal aid will ‘steal’ clients that would relatively easier for parties to navigate the otherwise be willing to pay. Data from the system of services with just information and Legal Aid Services Survey and the caseload of advice. Eventually further decisions on JCLA has been useful in demonstrating that demand for free services far exceeds the 2 ‘Statistical Survey on the Volume of Demand of Legal Aid combined abilities of all stakeholders to provide Services’ (2011). The survey was administered by the Justice them. It also helps undermine the argument Center for Legal Aid and the Department of Statistics of the that legal aid is attracting clients that would Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. otherwise pay private lawyers for assistance. 3 For a more detailed discussion see ‘Justice Sector Services And the data has been useful in developing and the Poor in Jordan: Determining Needs and Priorities’ World Bank Quick Notes Series, Number 96 (May 2013), at cooperation agreements based on division of http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMENA/Resources labor, for example having the Jordan Bar /QN96.pdf, as well as World Bank Quick Notes Series Association concentrate more on serious Number 62 (March 2012) ‘Who Needs Legal Aid Services? criminal cases and JCLA focusing on civil and Addressing Demand in Jordan’, at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMENA/Resources family law cases. /QN62.pdf, and Quick Notes Series Number 107 (September 2013) ‘Gender and Justice in Jordan: Women, Demand and Lawyers are usually not as supportive as you hope, Access’, at but judges can be more helpful than expected. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMENA/Resources /QN107.pdf. Lawyers, both privately and through January 2014 · Number 115 · 2 organizations such as bar associations, often Experimenting with Service Delivery Models: react negatively to CSOs developing legal aid Re-thinking the ‘one-stop’ shop model. The out of a sense of competition. Cooperation program originally envisioned a series of one- schemes, such as referral mechanisms involving stop LACs where all types of legal services lawyers or the bar association, can sometimes would be provided. These stand-alone LACs ease the tension. While some judges do not see have proven successful in larger urban areas the need for every party to be represented by a where caseloads are relatively high. In smaller lawyer in court, others not only recognize the population centers JCLA has adopted a model of obstacles faced by the poor but also the negative co-locating lawyers within offices of local CSOs impact on efficiency of court proceedings providing social services. This has proven involving uninformed parties. JCLA’s beneficial since local CSOs provide a natural promising experimental mechanisms for outreach mechanism, especially to the more cooperation include a system to retain private marginalized populations. JCLA and partner lawyers for highly specialized cases, for example services are often complementary for certain employment abuses, and working with the types of cases. For example, victims of domestic Jordan Bar Association to provide lawyers for violence can benefit from advice from the legal complicated cases, such as serious crimes. aid lawyer on legal options, while receiving Judges in the Sharia (Family) Courts have begun psycho-social and job-training programs. referring the unrepresented directly to JCLA, Partner CSOs report new categories of usually when the party is vulnerable or where beneficiaries accessing their services, for the opposing party is already represented by a example men involved in employment-related lawyer. Without a centralized intake system, disputes. They also report that having a lawyer judges play an important role in referring in the offices provides beneficiaries greater parties to service providers. The Judicial choice in addressing their problems, and gives Training Institute has shown interest in training CSOs more leverage when dealing with public on issues facing the poor and how judges can sector officials taking interactions with lawyers better serve them. more seriously. This experience has led to more exploration on better serving clients, especially The private sector is often overlooked as a partner, since legal needs are just one aspect of the but offers potential for cooperation. Private sector problems faced by many beneficiaries. entities are not commonly viewed as a potential partner in the provision of legal aid services. As Simplifying the determination of eligibility for part of its Corporate Social Responsibility services allows resources to be dedicated to better program, the Nuqul Foundation – part of the purposes. JCLA used to spend considerable Nuqul Group - is implementing activities to personnel and financial resources determining improve livelihoods in the district of Al-Koura, a eligibility of applicants for all types of cases. It remote area that had been suffering from a lack is now applying eligibility criteria only for the of investment. The initiatives involve working most costly services – in-depth counseling and with local communities and municipal legal representation. Information and basic governments in the design and implementation counseling are provided to all who apply. And of activities to address social and economic eligibility criteria have been simplified. Certain needs. Out of a recognition that poor members categories of applicants viewed as particularly of the community have unmet legal needs, the vulnerable are automatically provided services, Nuqul Foundation is providing JCLA free space including female-headed households, victims of for a LAC as part of the Foundation’s existing domestic violence and beneficiaries of the infrastructure. This is the first joint CSO-private National Aid Fund. JCLA also does not apply sector partnership in support of legal aid and eligibility criteria to beneficiaries referred from provides a useful experiment with a new mode other CSOs if they meet the criteria of the of service delivery. JCLA is also initiating referring body, and automatically provides discussions with private philanthropists to services to anyone imprisoned for more than ten consider a scheme of ‘adopting’ a LAC by days without access to a lawyer. contributing to its expenses. January 2014 · Number 115 · 3 Outreach is much more than simply generating performance evaluations are offered full-time information. According to the Legal Aid Services employment. Survey only 2% of respondents were aware of legal aid providers. Despite this demand for Privacy and location matter for beneficiaries. legal aid services is high. Over 80% of Implementing privacy policies has proven respondents who had a dispute but did not go important in developing trust with existing and to court reported they would do if provided potential beneficiaries. This is particularly legal aid.4 However, where legal aid is new, and important in socially conservative areas and in in areas with weak governance practices, cases of domestic or sexual violence. JCLA has citizens need to develop trust before they are policies to ensure greater privacy, including willing to engage. This takes time. Vulnerable allowing appointments without providing full communities, such as refugees and minorities names. Location of Lawyers’ offices also are, even more difficult to reach. Often the best matters. Where JCLA co-locates lawyers with advertisement is word-of-mouth, which is other CSOs, attention is now paid to ensuring slower than other forms of communication. lawyer’s office is in a less public area of the CSO CSOs have an advantage in outreach with premises. Client feedback identified another greater public trust compared to formal benefit of discreet locations. In more institutions and better community-level reach. conservative areas women avoid LACs because To build trust in poor communities and spread of perceptions of asserting rights contrary to information, JCLA integrates community local norms, yet find it easier to access a lawyer leaders within legal aid structures while located in a CSO providing social programs. building their capacity to play an active role in information and awareness sessions. Conclusion: JCLA has been experimenting with service delivery methods and procedures to Developing pro bono lawyer networks involves identify the most appropriate mix for Jordan. A longer-term changes to the culture of practicing law. number of initiatives outlined above show Pro bono networks involving volunteer lawyers promise. This experience may prove useful for are a logical response to ensure sustainability for other CSOs, governments and bar associations legal aid systems. The Jordan Bar Association to consider. Moving forward, there are a can appoint lawyers to perform mandatory pro number of issues deserving further attention. bono assistance – a model suddenly gaining These include impact evaluation of services, momentum in some high-income countries - but piloting self-help (pro se) tools for persons this mechanisms remains underutilized. Jordan without lawyers, public interest litigation and lacks a culture of professional volunteerism in development of an advocacy strategy to use data the justice sector, so pro bono is taking time to for reforming problematic public sector services. develop. Pro bono mechanisms are often more Financial sustainability is an ongoing struggle, effective when lawyers have incentives such as as it is for most of legal aid providers globally. training in new areas of law, some type of credit with the bar association or support from an Contact MNA K&L: employer. JCLA is attempting to develop pro Gerard A. Byam, Director, Strategy and Operations. bono along two tracks. The first is having MENA Region, The World Bank Preeti S. Ahuja, Manager, MNADE established lawyers volunteer for cases Regional Quick Notes Team: requiring specialized experience. The second is Omer Karasapan, Mark Volk, and Joshua McLellan to utilize law school graduates performing Newell mandatory two-year unpaid apprenticeships. Tel #: (202) 473 8177 JCLA trains and supervises them in provision of The MNA Quick Notes are to summarize lessons learned legal aid, and those receiving the highest from MNA and other Bank Knowledge and Learning activities. The Notes do not necessarily reflect the views of 4 the World Bank, its board or its member countries. According to the survey, respondents experiencing a dispute who did not file a case in court would do so if legal aid services included the following: lawyer fees, court fees and associated expenses such as transportation (87%); lawyer and court fees (85%); and lawyer fees only (83%). January 2014 · Number 115 · 4