Improving Access to Justice through Information and Communication Technologies

This rapid literature review collates information about the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) - radio, television, phones, computers, and the internet - in access to justice initiatives. Seeking to support disadvantaged groups, access to justice initiatives can aim to address: societal and cultural barriers (e.g., literacy), institutional barriers (e.g., limited legal assistance), or intersectional barriers when societal and institutional barriers overlap (e.g., corruption). The literature review found:

• Legal empowerment aims to enable citizens to actively use the law and shape it to their needs. Examples of awareness-raising and legal education initiatives using ICTs include: (i) using television and radio talk shows to build links between the formal and informal justice systems - e.g., from 2007 to 2010, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)'s Access to Justice programme in Cambodia had 4 television shows and 18 radio shows which included interviews and discussions with guest speakers from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), international organisations, and experts; one topic involved interviews with indigenous elders and video documentaries of farming ceremonies to illustrate how traditional authorities resolve conflicts in the villages. (ii) broadcasting documentaries on local television stations, as in the Women and Girls Lead Global Partnership, which has projects in 8 countries aiming to promote gender equality and women's empowerment through a documentary film series. It also runs campaigns including the "I Have a Story" campaign, in Jordan which brings together youth and women together in film clubs to discuss gender-based violence. (iii) raising awareness through radio - e.g., Nigeria's "reality" radio programme ("Brekete Family Radio") uses a public complaint forum or people's court model. People call in to report on issues of impunity, and the panel sitting in the studio discusses the issues and invites the public to give advice to the complainants. (iv) offering mobile phone applications (apps), such as one created to provide access to Nigeria's amended constitution, search functions, a legal directory, and discussion forums. (v) developing online resources, websites, e-magazines, social media, and email forums to disseminate information about justice and rights.
• ICTs have been used to improve the administrative procedures of judicial systems, impacting effectiveness, legal authorities' cooperation, and access to justice. Examples of capacity building initiatives using ICTs include: (i) using the internet, as illustrated by the Justice Ministry of Bhutan, with support from UNDP, launching a judicial website that has functions to make the court system more accessible by making judgments, hearing calendar, court procedures, and case information available online, etc. (ii) training staff on how to include all citizens in justice initiatives - e.g., in Cambodia, the World Bank's Justice for the Poor Program has supported training on media law and freedom of expression that guided students in producing radio documentaries on issues such as land disputes and the Khmer Rouge trials.
• In many countries, basic information about legal rights or how justice institutions work is not publicly available (or is only available in certain languages, etc.). Examples of providing legal information using ICTs include: (i) using SMS-based initiatives to inform citizens of legal rights - e.g., South Africa's UmNyango project set up a "SMS gateway for two-way communication" that sent 300 SMSs over a 4-month period with information about various Acts such as the Employment Equity Act and the gender equality clause in the constitution, as well as information about counselling and legal support. (ii) using SMS-based judicial information systems to notify citizens and lawyers of court dates, as in Turkey and India. (iii) drawing on creative campaigns dramatising legal messages through stories on TV and radio as was carried out by the Timor-Leste Ministry of Justice from 2004-2005. (iv) non-formal legal education through a mix of print media (both newspapers and pamphlets), posters, radio, and television, along with strategies that integrate legal information into popular entertainment such as comic books, soap operas, popular music, local theatre, and interactive, participatory activities. (v) setting up telecentres where information on the law (e.g., violence, religious law), worker rights (e.g., minimum wages), and citizenship rights can be obtained.
• Where justice institutions are limited, legal aid and community paralegals provide services. In Western Nigeria, the Public Defender and Centre for Citizens Rights provides free legal representation for women, children, and the economically poor, using radio and television programmes to educate the public about their rights and publicise available legal services.
• People living in remote areas are often unable to access state justice institutions. Examples of using ICTs to link up remote areas include: (i) using mobile phones to collect and transmit evidence to courts - e.g., in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in regions where courts do not exist, victims of violence can send text messages to towns with a functioning judiciary and have their cases heard in an effort to bring perpetrators to justice. (ii) providing a free-phone number to contact the police - e.g., the West African mobile network operator MTN's free public phone number to report crime or to get information about crime-related issues. (iii) setting up virtual courts in Kenya using video teleconference technology to link a judge to people in remote areas.
• Non-recognition of legal identity is a key obstacle to access to justice as it is often needed when claiming entitlements. Examples of initiatives that register legal identity using ICTs include: using planes, boats, trucks, canoes, and carts to distribute portable registration kits (each of which contained a laptop, fingerprinting materials, and a digital camera) in remote areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo to issue photo ID cards on the spot. (ii) using SMS to gather registration information in Nigeria. (iii) using geo-mapping technology in Albania, Kosovo, and Pakistan to facilitate collection and visualisation of birth registration data.
• Managing and resolving disputes through non-state dispute resolution mechanisms can help resolve disputes quickly and reduce the pressure on state resources. Examples of using ICTs in dispute resolution include: (i) using open-source software to link formal systems with community-based dispute resolution mechanisms. (ii) providing mobile phones to participants in 7 communities in Bolivia to allow them to manage land boundary disputes via global positioning system (GPS) with the help of a free support phone line (to address challenges such as the fact that indigenous languages are often spoken but not written, so some participants are unable to send texts with GPS points).