Justice: Access to Justice

Access to Justice

People regularly face legal problems, such as discrimination in receiving public services, eviction threats, employment disputes, and gender-based violence. According to one estimate, about 1.5 billion people worldwide had unresolved justice problems in 2019. Unclear rules, complex processes, high costs, and discrimination in justice systems exclude many from accessing justice. To address these issues, people need the capacity to understand their legal problems and seek help through fair and impartial processes. Open government measures can ensure efforts to increase access to justice are responsive to people’s needs, by transforming justice systems to center people’s justice needs and focusing on fair outcomes.

Key Terms The Evidence Reform
Guidance Active OGP
Partners Benchmarking
Data Guidance
& Standards

Open Gov Challenge: Justice

With OGP’s 2023-2028 Strategy, OGP members are set to work toward a number of aspirational thematic reforms through the Open Gov Challenge. This section of the Open Gov Guide addresses Justice.

Challenge prompt: Advance people-centered justice reforms.

Actions may include:

Ensuring that everyone has access to legal services.
Ensuring that justice institutions across the public sector are independent, transparent, responsive to the public, and inclusive.
Ensuring that there is accountability for policy-making through appropriate redress mechanisms that involve the public.

Key Terms

Definitions for key terms such as access to justice.

Access to justice: Access to justice is a component of the rule of law where individuals and communities with legal needs know where to go for help, obtain the help they need, and move through a system that offers procedural, substantive, and expeditious justice without undue cost or harm. Access to justice also includes the ability of people to resolve and prevent their own justice problems, and to use justice as a platform to participate in their economies and societies.

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The Evidence

Improving access to justice through people-centered approaches helps people and communities.

Increasing access to justice helps reduce inequality. Examples include providing legal representation for disadvantaged groups (especially in asylum cases) and financial assistance to pay fines.
Investing in more judges and legal representation has helped governments save money. It can help prevent the worst consequences—like bankruptcy, violence, and homelessness—when people cannot resolve their justice needs. This is especially true for pro bono legal services, which can contribute to both economic growth and government savings.
Expanding the type, number and reach of justice services has been shown to reduce conflict, which can result in economic returns of USD $16 for every $1 invested.

Reform Guidance

The recommendations below represent reforms that national and local governments, representatives of civil society organizations, and others can consider for their action plans and the Open Gov Challenge. The reforms are categorized according to OGP’s principal values: transparency, civic participation, and public accountability. Reforms should be adapted to fit the domestic context, and involve and coordinate with other levels and branches of government.

Reforms across policy areas are also tagged by the estimated degree of difficulty in implementation. Though progress is often not linear, the recommendations have been categorized using these labels to give the reader a sense of how different reforms can work together to raise the ambition of open government approaches.

Recommended Reforms Key

OGP Values

Transparency: Transparency empowers citizens to exercise their rights, hold the government accountable, and participate in decision-making processes. Examples of relevant activities include the proactive or reactive publication of government-held information, legal or institutional frameworks to strengthen the right to access information, and disclosing information using open data standards.

Civic Participation: When people are engaged, governments and public institutions are more responsive, innovative, and effective. Examples of relevant initiatives include new or improved processes and mechanisms for the public to contribute to decisions, participatory mechanisms to involve underrepresented groups in policy making, and a legal environment that guarantees civil and political rights.
Public Accountability: Public accountability occurs when public institutions must justify their actions, act upon requirements and criticisms, and take responsibility for failure to perform according to laws or commitments. Importantly, public accountability means that members of the public can also access and trigger accountability mechanisms. Examples of relevant activities include citizen audits of performance, new or improved mechanisms or institutions that respond to citizen-initiated appeals processes, and improved access to justice.
Inclusion: Inclusion is fundamental to achieving more equitable, representative, and accountable policies that truly serve all people. This includes increasing the voice, agency, and influence of historically discriminated or underrepresented groups. Depending on the context, traditionally underrepresented groups may experience discrimination based on gender, sexual identity, race, ethnicity, age, geography, differing ability, legal, or socioeconomic status.

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Degree of Difficulty

Foundational: This tag is used for reforms that are the essential building blocks of a policy area. “Foundational” does not mean low ambition or low impact. These recommendations often establish basic legal frameworks and institutional structures.
Intermediate: This tag is used for reforms that are complex and often involve coordination and outreach between branches, institutions, and levels of government, with the public or between countries.
Advanced: This tag is used for reforms that close important loopholes to make existing work more effective and impactful. Specifically, “Advanced” reforms are particularly ambitious, innovative or close important loopholes to make existing work more effective, impactful or sustainable. They are often applied in mature environments where they seek to institutionalize a good practice that has already shown results.

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Branch of Government

Executive: The executive branch of government is responsible for designing, implementing, and enforcing laws, policies, and initiatives. It is typically led by the head of state or government, such as a president or prime minister, along with their appointed cabinet members. The executive branch’s functions also include overseeing the day-to-day operations of the government, managing foreign affairs, and directing the country’s armed forces. In democratic systems, the executive branch is accountable to the legislature and the electorate, with its powers and limitations outlined in the constitution or legal framework of the respective country.
Legislative: The legislative branch of government is responsible for making laws and regulations and overseeing the functioning of the government. It typically consists of a body of elected representatives, such as a parliament, congress, or assembly, which is tasked with proposing, debating, amending, and ultimately passing legislation. The legislative branch plays a crucial role in representing the interests of the people, as its members are elected to office by the public. In addition to law-making, this branch often holds the power to levy taxes, allocate funds, and conduct certain investigations into matters of public concern. The structure and powers of the legislative branch are usually outlined in a country’s constitution or legal framework, and it serves as a check on the executive and judicial branches to ensure a system of checks and balances within a state.

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Recommended Reforms

Policy Area	Recommendation	OGP Value	Degree of Difficulty	Government Branch
Foundations	Create parliamentary multi-stakeholder processes Parliaments may establish regular public hearings, commission reports, convene expert panels, and solicit testimony from legal services, bar associations, and organizations representing those with the most intense unmet legal needs to inform policy. Policy Area Foundations OGP Value Civic Participation Degree of Difficulty Foundational Government Branch Legislative	Civic Participation	Foundational	Legislative
Foundations	Mandate regular reporting on access to justice data Mandate regular reporting by court statisticians to parliament on the various components of access to justice. All non-sensitive data from these reports should also be made available to the public. Policy Area Foundations OGP Value Transparency Degree of Difficulty Foundational Government Branch Legislative	Transparency	Foundational	Legislative
Foundations	Include access to justice issues on judicial committee agendas Establish public standing agenda items related to access to justice for judicial committees. To the extent possible, create mechanisms for public participation in such sessions, such as providing expert testimony to the committee. Policy Area Foundations OGP Value Transparency Civic Participation Degree of Difficulty Foundational Government Branch Legislative	Transparency Civic Participation	Foundational	Legislative
Foundations	Include access to justice themes in judicial appointments Encourage the inclusion of access to justice themes in judicial qualifications for parliament-appointed judges. These qualifications and justifications of final appointments should be made available to the public. Policy Area Foundations OGP Value Transparency Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Legislative	Transparency	Intermediate	Legislative
Legal Needs	Mandate and fund legal resource surveys Collect and analyze data on the availability of resources for people to resolve their legal problems. Make the data and analysis public. Policy Area Legal Needs OGP Value Transparency Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Legislative	Transparency	Intermediate	Legislative
Legal Needs	Mandate and fund legal needs surveys Develop, implement, and publish the results of legal needs surveys to identify the nature and impact of legal problems, as well as paths to resolution, so that policy makers have a clear understanding of the justice solutions and reforms needed. Policy Area Legal Needs OGP Value Transparency Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Legislative	Transparency	Intermediate	Legislative
Legal Capability	Create alternatives to courts Support non-court intensive solutions to legal problems, such as paralegals, community-based mediation, and one-stop service centers, using technology when appropriate and feasible. Policy Area Legal Capability OGP Value Public Accountability Civic Participation Degree of Difficulty Foundational Government Branch	Public Accountability Civic Participation	Foundational
Legal Capability	Improve access to information on resources Improve access to information about laws and procedures to enable individuals to identify their legal needs, identify sources of legal advice, and help themselves. This might be through online portals where appropriate. Policy Area Legal Capability OGP Value Transparency Degree of Difficulty Foundational Government Branch	Transparency	Foundational
Access to Help	Create a legal aid authority Create an independent legal aid authority that can establish, fund, staff, regulate, and evaluate the legal aid scheme. Consider a multi-stakeholder approach, such as bringing in legal professionals and community members. Policy Area Access to Help OGP Value Public Accountability Civic Participation Degree of Difficulty Foundational Government Branch Legislative	Public Accountability Civic Participation	Foundational	Legislative
Access to Help	Expand legal aid Expand access to civil and criminal legal aid to improve accountability in the justice system. This may include expanding the provision of legal aid for problems that might not have adequate funding and expanding partnerships with civil society organizations (CSOs) offering legal assistance. Policy Area Access to Help OGP Value Public Accountability Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Legislative	Public Accountability	Intermediate	Legislative
Access to Help	Expand programs for underserved communities Increase funding to existing legal aid services and establish new offices and services to reach isolated or underserved communities. Make budgets (and outcomes) transparent down to the program level. Policy Area Access to Help OGP Value Public Accountability Transparency Inclusion Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Legislative	Public Accountability Transparency Inclusion	Intermediate	Legislative
Access to Help	Strengthen partnerships Strengthen and institutionalize partnerships between CSOs and law enforcement, when appropriate, to better serve underserved communities and populations like survivors of gender-based violence. Policy Area Access to Help OGP Value Public Accountability Civic Participation Inclusion Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Executive	Public Accountability Civic Participation Inclusion	Intermediate	Executive
Access to Help	Train legal professionals Fund and launch training programs for legal aid lawyers, paralegals, and pro bono volunteers to improve their legal skills and knowledge in legal areas impacting low-income and underserved individuals. Policy Area Access to Help OGP Value Public Accountability Inclusion Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Legislative	Public Accountability Inclusion	Intermediate	Legislative
Access to Help	Expand the use of law clinics Revise legal profession regulations to enable law students (under the supervision of licensed attorneys) to provide legal services to low-income and underserved individuals through law school clinics or with CSOs. Policy Area Access to Help OGP Value Public Accountability Inclusion Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Legislative	Public Accountability Inclusion	Intermediate	Legislative
Access to Help	Increase and diversify legal aid funding Expand and diversify financing for legal assistance at national and sub-national levels. This might include public sector partnerships to strengthen justice interventions that secure basic needs like housing, employment, and access to public services. Policy Area Access to Help OGP Value Public Accountability Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Legislative	Public Accountability	Intermediate	Legislative
Access to Help	Increase cooperation to address legal needs Protect and deepen civil society partnerships, especially with civil legal aid providers, community paralegals, and other informal, community-based justice providers. Launch working groups composed of government and civil society members to identify legal reforms needed to improve justice delivery systems through legal assistance and the courts. Policy Area Access to Help OGP Value Public Accountability Civic Participation Degree of Difficulty Advanced Government Branch Executive	Public Accountability Civic Participation	Advanced	Executive
Justice Processes	Adopt plain language rules Update legal systems to use clear and plain language in legal proceedings and in legal documents. Policy Area Justice Processes OGP Value Public Accountability Degree of Difficulty Foundational Government Branch	Public Accountability	Foundational
Justice Processes	Create an authority to oversee non-lawyers Establish a legal authority and dedicated funding for non-lawyer contributions, such as community paralegals, to ensure independence and effective oversight. This might be through new or revised legislation, regulation, or policies by government and civil society actors. Policy Area Justice Processes OGP Value Public Accountability Degree of Difficulty Foundational Government Branch Legislative	Public Accountability	Foundational	Legislative
Justice Processes	Empower people to access services and opportunities Eliminate or simplify legal, administrative, financial, and practical barriers that people face to obtain official and personal documents, access public services (including for mental health), and participate fully in society and the economy, while also promoting gender equality. Policy Area Justice Processes OGP Value Civic Participation Inclusion Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch	Civic Participation Inclusion	Intermediate
Justice Processes	Implement regulatory reforms Implement regulatory reforms to allow non-lawyers and non-judges to provide justice services at the community level. Many countries begin with a “regulatory sandbox” approach, allowing governments to experiment and test innovative legal regulations before full implementation. Policy Area Justice Processes OGP Value Civic Participation Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Executive	Civic Participation	Intermediate	Executive
Justice Processes	Establish an ombudsperson body Establish ombudsperson offices to hear complaints about the judicial system and its actors. Work with the national bar or law societies to improve or develop grievance procedures related to the practice of law. This can enable individuals to file formal complaints related to their legal representation, a prosecutor’s conduct, or a judicial officer’s conduct. Policy Area Justice Processes OGP Value Public Accountability Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Legislative	Public Accountability	Intermediate	Legislative
Justice Processes	Create specialized legal procedures Establish legal procedures to protect the rights of people with limited capacity or other vulnerabilities, such as the creation of a Decision Support Service in Ireland. Policy Area Justice Processes OGP Value Public Accountability Civic Participation Inclusion Degree of Difficulty Advanced Government Branch Legislative	Public Accountability Civic Participation Inclusion	Advanced	Legislative
Justice Outcomes	Collect and publish data on outcomes Improve data collection and publication of justice system metrics, including the number and types of courts, court caseloads, and legal actors (such as judges, prosecutors, legal aid, and paralegals). For details, see the chapter on open justice. Informal systems monitoring: Research shows that less than a third of people seek advice for their legal problems—those who do tend to ask family and friends for help. Consider working with community-based organizations and other advocates to create a fuller picture of justice outcomes beyond the formal justice system, especially for marginalized groups. The work of LET STATION, a people-centered justice organization in North Macedonia, provides an example of this expertise. Policy Area Justice Outcomes OGP Value Transparency Civic Participation Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Executive	Transparency Civic Participation	Intermediate	Executive
Justice Outcomes	Evaluate key populations Fund and publish an evaluation of whether marginalized communities (such as women, indigenous communities, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, and people with disabilities) have specific justice needs or are disparately impacted by the justice system to identify areas of reform. Policy Area Justice Outcomes OGP Value Transparency Inclusion Degree of Difficulty Intermediate Government Branch Legislative	Transparency Inclusion	Intermediate	Legislative
Justice Outcomes	Evaluate high-priority areas Fund measurement and public evaluation of the justice system as a whole and priority cases like housing, employment, debt, family problems, and access to public services. Policy Area Justice Outcomes OGP Value Transparency Degree of Difficulty Advanced Government Branch Legislative	Transparency	Advanced	Legislative

Examples of Reforms from OGP and Beyond

The following examples are commitments previously made within or beyond OGP that demonstrate elements of the recommendations made above. Justice reforms have been increasingly popular within OGP, with half of all action plans dealing with justice in some respect.

OGP Reforms

ALBANIA Legal Services Awareness Campaign: Committed to expanding access to justice by raising awareness of laws and services, such as free legal aid, and providing services in sign language.
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA Simple Language Versions of Legal Documents: Created the JusLab initiative to increase transparency and understandability of legal documents, especially court decisions.
COLOMBIA Web Portal on Justice Information: Launched a web portal and mobile application called LegalApp to make it easier for the public to access information on justice services.
INDONESIA Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities: Passed regulations to implement accommodations for persons with disabilities in the Supreme Court and correctional institutions. Committed to passing regulations for these accommodations for the Attorney General’s Office.
MEXICO STATE, MEXICO Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms: Committed to improving the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for everyday conflicts.
NORTH MACEDONIA Legal Aid for Marginalized Groups: Committed to building on previous work to expand access to justice for marginalized groups, such as free legal aid services.
TLALNEPANTLA DE BAZ, MEXICO Legislation on Rural Justice Access: Committed to drafting legislation creating mobile justice mechanisms for remote areas, a proactive legal aid system, and the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

Beyond OGP Action Plans

KENYA National Policy on Alternative Justice Systems (AJS): Passed a national policy on AJS in 2020 based on a study of existing traditional or informal justice systems in the country. Through OGP, committed to implementing the policy, such as by allocating funding and piloting AJS programs to train legal aid lawyers and provide support for low-income people facing justice issues.
SOUTH AFRICA Survey to Collect Access to Justice Data: Expanded its annual crime survey to capture access to justice data on a three-year cycle, such as the types of legal problems people face, their experiences in resolving these problems, and the resources they accessed to do so.

The Role of Local Governments

Many of the most basic legal services are carried out at the local level. Often, provinces or states provide licenses for legal practices and establish the financial structure for legal services, through grants, pro bono services, or non-profit or public activities.

Just as importantly, in many countries, local courts and other dispute resolution processes are primarily local. They have specialized knowledge and are rooted in the community, often dealing with family law, employment, housing, and discrimination issues. Beyond courts, other parts of the justice system, such as public defenders and legal services, are often devolved to local actors as well.

Colombia’s “Justice in your neighborhood” initiative shows how people-centered justice solutions can help protect vulnerable groups. Colombia’s local governments hold public “justice fairs” in underserved communities. The program specifically targets communities with high concentrations of immigrant or refugee populations, high rates of human rights violations or violence, and high levels of vulnerability.

Who is working on this topic?

A

Albania

Argentina

B

Brazil

Burkina Faso

C

Cabo Verde

Canada

Chile

Colombia

Contagem, Brazil

Costa Rica

Croatia

D

Denmark

E

Ecuador

F

France

G

Georgia

Ghana

Greece

H

Honduras

I

Indonesia

Ireland

Israel

Italy

J

Jamaica

Jordan

K

Kenya

L

La Libertad, Peru

Liberia

M

Malta

Mexico

Mexico State, Mexico

Mongolia

Montenegro

N

Netherlands

Nigeria

North Macedonia

P

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

R

Republic Of Korea

Romania

S

Senegal

Sierra Leone

South Africa

Spain

T

Tlalnepantla De Baz, Mexico

U

Ukraine

United States

Uruguay

This list reflects members with commitments in the “Access to Justice” policy area of the Data Dashboard.

Active OGP Partners

The following organizations have recently worked on this issue in the context of OGP at the national or international level. They may have additional insights on the topic. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are interested in national-level initiatives, please contact research@opengovpartnership.org.

Benchmarking Data

The OGP 2023-2028 Strategy sets out the Open Gov Challenge and aims to provide clear benchmarks for performance through reliable data.

While benchmarks for individual countries and Open Gov Guide recommendations are not yet integrated, for this chapter, interested individuals may rely on the following data sets:

The World Justice Project‘s Rule of Law Index analyzes different dimensions of governance in 140 countries and jurisdictions, with specific indicators related to access to civil and criminal justice.
OGP commitments on this topic can be found on the Data Dashboard.

Guidance & Standards

While the list below is not exhaustive, it aims to provide a range of recommendations, standards, and analysis to guide reform in this policy area.

The OGP Support Unit curated a list of recommendations, in addition to lessons from reformers and other key data related to access to justice, as part of its Justice Policy Series.
The Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies (Pathfinders) published a foundational analysis of access to justice issues in its Justice for All report, which proposes a people-centered approach to increase access to justice in line with Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Pathfinders also published briefs on the justice response to the pandemic in terms of the resulting public health emergency and economic crisis, as well as on how courts globally are embracing justice innovations.
The OECD published a framework for implementing people-centered approaches to increasing access to justice. The OECD Council also recently adopted a set of recommendations on access to justice and people-centered justice systems.

A joint report from UN Women, International Development Law Organization, UN Development Programme, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Bank, and Pathfinders, supported by the Elders, gathers available data and puts forth recommendations to accelerate action and increase justice for women.
Namati, a legal empowerment organization, lays out Six Recommendations for Advancing Justice for All on the 10th anniversary of the Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor. In addition, with the broader Justice for All campaign, Namati published two useful resources: Grassroots Justice in a Pandemic: Ensuring a Just Response and Recovery and Providing Legal Services Remotely.
The Council of Europe created a framework on how to measure access to justice, with a specific focus on capturing the gender-specific challenges women face.
The Open Society Justice Initiative and The Engine Room published a review of how legal empowerment actors worldwide are using technology to give people information about the law, connect them with legal advice, and provide them with legal services. It includes examples that can be taken up as models by other countries.

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