Hague Institute for Innovation of Law Policy on What Works in People-Centred Justice?

The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law in the Netherlands is a non-profit research group that puts out interesting research on how to make justice more accessible.

It recently published a "policy brief" that looks at “What works” in People-centered justice?

"Every day hundreds of millions of people need the law to resolve land disputes, debt issues, family disagreements, disputes with neighbours and many other legal issues. The parties, the issues at stake, and the contexts are always unique, but it is common wisdom that some pathways to solutions are more effective than others. Knowledge about what “generally” works is a crucial ingredient for an effective and people-centred justice system which aims to provide access to justice for all."

"In this policy brief, we explore the question of “what works” in justice. The policy brief aims to provide evidence-based insights on effective interventions in the field of justice and to encourage further research in this area. Not surprisingly, there are no quick fixes."

"Challenges to understanding 'what works' in justice include a lack of robust data, disagreements on the meaning of justice outcomes, and a lack of understanding of the full range of interventions needed to resolve legal problems fairly. To address these challenges and improve access to justice, it is necessary to adopt an evidence-based approach, including gathering more people-centred data, defining justice outcomes more broadly, and viewing interventions as packages of activities rather than individual components."