Access to justice: a new approach using human rights standards

Abstract

This article details a trial of a new approach to measuring access to justice that utilises human rights instruments as the reference point. It involves an examination of people's actual experience of the justice system using human rights standards as the benchmark. The research project selected the right to income security. The project trialled a range of methods gathering data about how people have been treated in the Australian social security system and how they would expect to be treated if there was a human right to social security in Australia. This data is assessed against the set of standards developed to measure the enjoyment of the right to social security. The trial suggests that without knowledge about human rights and legal rights, without the confidence to exercise those rights and without the capacity or capability to seek or find help it is unlikely that people will realise their rights and accordingly access to justice is placed in question. The research methodology has the potential to be a useful model to conduct further access to justice research.If we believe in human rights, we must work hard to define what they mean for people's daily lives. We must identify the real and concrete outcomes that represent the achievement of human rights in practice and make sure they are incorporated in government programs and policies, as well as ensuring that the broad principles and goals of human rights form part of national and local government targets, mission statement and evaluation. 1 We've just had a young guy living with us for a few days, a twenty year old bloke who is unemployed and is homeless . . . I don't think he would see that he's got a right to that so he wouldn't go in and yell and scream or argue or get somebody to advocate for him and there's probably a lot like that. They're not prepared or have the capacity to stand up to the system and make the system work or justify itself. That's very hard to do to. 2

Is it ‘fair'? Representation of children, young people and parents in an adversarial court system

“…The reanalysis indicated that stakeholders were concerned that representation was not always available to the vulnerable groups that form a high proportion of those affected by care proceedings (Walsh & Douglas ). This finding is reflected in the access to justice literature, which indicates there is enormous unmet need in Australia for legal services (Curran & Noone ; Curran ).…”

Outsourcing Legal Aid in the Nordic Welfare States

“…In this type of case, the legal clinic can inform people about their rights and what they can expect from, for example, the authorities. The classic Norwegian legal aid study and more recent international studies (Curran and Noone 2008;Denvir et al 2013) indicate that people rarely know their rights or what they are entitled to. Furthermore, research has shown that people often do not see their problems as legal ones (Sandefur 2009).…”

A Search for Justice and Rights in Land Dispute Resolution in Cambodia

“…The benchmark of access to justice is the standard of human rights (Curran and Noone ). However, access to justice and legal systems is difficult for marginalized groups because the oppressing groups have an influence on legal and political institutions (Glaeser et al ; Fernandez ).…”