NOVEMBER 2017 GOVERNANCE NOTES No.4 JANUARY 2019 No.11 ACCESS TO JUSTICE ADVANCES DEVELOPMENT GOALS Prepared by Elaine Panter and Georgia Harley Access to justice—the ability of citizens and communities to LEGAL CLINICS resolve disputes and uphold rights —is key to attaining the The Jordan Legal Aid for Poor Women Project targets legal World Bank’s twin goals of eliminating poverty and promoting aid funding specifically for poor women and their children who shared prosperity. It supports the vulnerable to prevent and face particularly high obstacles to legal and judicial services. address various forms of abuse. It helps businesses, especially The establishment of legal aid clinics for women increased the MSMEs, to grow. It is crucial for achieving high-quality public probability of obtaining favorable judgments in child support service delivery in all sectors, including security, health, edu- cases and the chance of actually obtaining child support cation, transport, information and communication technology payments and decreased the probability of severe physical (ICT), utilities, housing, and social protection. Access to justice violence from ex-spouses or ex-partners. A World Bank project also helps to prevent and mitigate conflict and violence. in the Russian Federation on Strengthening Access to Justice for the Poorest and Most Vulnerable established 20 pilot local INITIATIVES IN ACCESS TO JUSTICE legal aid centers that provided free assistance to 13,376 rural The World Bank works with client countries to enhance access dwellers, of whom 513 were criminal defendants or victims. to existing legal services and promote legal empowerment. The Justice Services Improvement Project in Peru increased Where these mechanisms are weak or lacking, the World Bank the number of free legal aid centers across the country and partners with state and nonstate service providers to develop extended the justice sector’s ability to reach those in need of legal services that are accessible and affordable for all. Activi- its services. ties are financed by development policy operations, investment project financing, or trust funds, among others. They can ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND MEDIATION be stand-alone activities or components of broader or sec- In Azerbaijan, the Judicial Services and Smart Infrastructure tor-specific projects in areas such as health, education, social Project is helping the government develop alternative dispute protection, anti-corruption, and labor. The components vary resolution (ADR) systems for internally displaced persons, depending on need and include instruments such as mobile refugees, and other vulnerable groups. Through the Engaging courts, legal clinics, alternative dispute resolution, and parale- Citizens through Mediation in Kaduna State Project, the gal services. Initiatives also focus on the law-making process World Bank partnered with the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria to and how to make use of law and justice institutions to improve develop staff capacity through ADR and mediation training public sector accountability. and by introducing paralegal training, all of which were novel in the Nigerian legal education system. The Alternative Dispute MOBILE COURTS Resolution Project in Pakistan helped improve access to Mobile courts provide access to justice services in rural areas justice for small and medium enterprises by providing ADR where they are often scarce or lacking. In Tanzania, the and commercial mediation services at the Karachi Center for World Bank’s Citizen-Centric Judicial Modernization and Dispute Resolution. Justice Services Delivery Project is implementing a program called Justice-on-Wheels. Mobile courts empower vulnerable INFORMATION, DISSEMINATION, AND EDUCATION groups, such as women, youth, and small businesses, by By partnering with local civil society organizations, the providing quick and affordable justice services where they Justice Sector Support Project in Serbia published a guide for live and work. Mobile courts initiated under a project in the victims of crime informing them about their rights and how to Philippines allowed judges to travel to prisons and underserved navigate the criminal justice system. The project is developing communities to adjudicate, leading to the release of thousands an online interactive map that enables victims of crime to of pretrial detainees. Similar mobile courts were established in identify state and nonstate organizations that provide support Ecuador and Honduras as well as Guatemala, among others. services for victims. 1 GOVERNANCE NOTES JANUARY 2019 No.11 To help cut the costs of legal representation and improve GOING FORWARD legal education, the project also published a series of toolkits Client countries are increasingly looking for solutions to reduce for lay people, including a Self-Representation Guide, First barriers to access to justice. The Justice and Development Time in Court or at Courthouse Guide, Guide for Exemption Community of Practice at the World Bank is committed to from Court Fees: Court Fees in Civil Proceedings and How building on the lessons learned from over 25 years in the field To Dispense with Payments, and Guide for the Exercise of and continuing to investigate ways to develop good, replicable, Right to a Court Interpreter. To strengthen legal education and scalable access to justice programs. and improve access to justice, the World Bank also contributed At a time when income inequality is rising, it’s increasingly to the development of the Afro-barometer and carried out a important that governments provide citizens and businesses regional survey on women’s access to justice in Africa. with access to the tools they need to resolve their disputes and uphold their rights in ways that are fast and fair. E-JUSTICE AND ICT In the Justice Services Improvement Project II, the Peruvian government instituted an electronic filing and notification system to implement quicker and more secure processes in its justice system that saved time and reduced the risk of loss and document tampering. Among ICT-driven strategies that can reap benefits are computerization of judicial processes, online dispute resolution platforms, and the use of mobile technology to reach populations in rural areas, according to the sixth edition of The World Bank Legal Review. PARALEGALS The World Bank Justice for the Poor Program assisted the implementation of the Indonesia National Strategy on Access to Justice. Policy advice and technical assistance ensured that paralegals were recognized in the provision of legal services and expanded the number of organizations that could offer legal aid, thereby making services more widely available in the country. Technical assistance also improved the effectiveness of complaint handling processes, particularly those related to large corruption cases. The Justice for the Poor Community Paralegal Program in Sierra Leone helped improve accountability around the government’s initiative to provide free health care to pregnant and breastfeeding women as well as children under five. PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTABILITY To increase government accountability and enhance access to justice, the Demand for Good Governance Project in Cambodia worked to strengthen citizen organizations that bring grievances against the state. To improve coordination between nongovernmental organizations and the government of Ghana in providing services to female-headed households and HIV/AIDS orphans, the Legal Reform and Legal Aid for the Advancement of Women Project developed a more comprehensive approach to legal aid by fostering partnerships between the government and civil society. Analysis under the grant was instrumental in increasing access to justice and women’s access to land. 2