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S'il est vrai que le caractère de l'esprit et les passions du coeur soient extrêmement differents dans les divers climats, les lois doivent être relatives et à la difference de ces passions, et à la difference de ces caractères (Montesquieu, De l'Esprit des Lois). Trois degres d'élévation du pôle renversent toute la jurisprudence, un méridian décide de la vérité … Plaisante justice qu'une rivière borne Vérité au deça des Pyrenées erreur au delà (Pascal, Pensées).

This paper questions some basic assumptions of legal theory, education and practice from the perspective of rural, remote and regional (RRR) legal communities beyond the metropolis. Legal ideologies and values fundamental to the legitimacy of the modern state, such as the Rule of Law, are embedded in most law curricula and reinforced at every stage of the educational continuum, and commonly assert that law, legal rights and access to courts of law apply equally regardless of physical location or social status. Despite this, indigenous and other excluded groups living in peripheral communities frequently experience law differently from their urban counterparts, as do legal professionals living and working outside the city. The key issue examined concerns how centre-periphery tension should best be managed in the future regulation of law and lawyers. What kind of policies and strategies may genuinely assist social inclusion and to what extent should law and legal practice accommodate diversity? How and to what extent should lawyers and para-legals represent the interests of communities rather than private individuals in RRR areas of Australia? What kind of training and technological support do they require? The paper aims to set out some choices that confront policymakers while drawing upon international experience that may offer some guidance.

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Professor Economides, 2002 Chapman Tripp visiting fellow, overviews research on the supply side of the access to justice equation. Economides argues that the justice equation is based on the nature of supply and demand for legal services and the nature of the claim that clients wish to bring to a legal forum. However, the access to justice theme is moved beyond the supply side and into questions regarding the quality of the access provided suggesting that there is a need to explore the understandings of justice held by members of the legal profession and legal ethics, and the role that law schools and legal education have in formulating these.

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