International Learnings
Triage tools – The Illinois Model
Published 20/09/2018 by Christian Gunther
Triage tools, legal portals, guided pathways. Whatever the terminology, the use of technology to gather information from service users and signpost or refer them, based on that information given, to appropriate services is a much sought after resource. Getting the model right is an undeniable challenge but there are some good international examples of how to make the right technology work in the right situations.
Indian High Court IT Initiatives
Published 07/09/2018
The Indian Punjab and Haryana High Court has begun utilising IT to support litigants, lawyers and judges in a variety of ways.
Germany vs England - Informal Justice
Published 03/08/2018
In an insightful comparative empirical study of the United Kingdom and Germany Naomi Creutzfeldt highlights how differing experiences of the formal legal system shape citizens' wider attitudes towards justice.
New research will look at the use of “non-lawyers” or “navigators” in civil court cases
Published 21/06/2018
New American research will investigate the use of “non-lawyer” personnel (sometimes dubbed “navigators” or those who fill “roles beyond lawyers”) in supporting litigants in person.
Canada launches 6 year research initiative examining AI in the justice sector
Published 21/06/2018
Led by Professor Karim Benyekhlef, Director of the Cyberjustice Laboratory, and funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s (SSHRC) Partnership Grants program, ACT aims to increase access to justice through the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
Courts work in partnership to create resources for litigants in person
Published 20/06/2018
The Provincial Court of British Columbia, in partnership with Clicklaw, have created (regularly updated) mobile-friendly guides to online legal information resources for self-represented litigants, and others who require assistance when starting out on the path to problem resolution for Provincial Court matters.
Judges in Nova Scotia learn about the challenges faced by the African community in the justice system
Published 20/06/2018
“We all carry with us lived experiences that shape who we are and what we believe, and those experiences help guide the decisions we make...it is important that we take time to better understand the world view of those who turn to us for relief, particularly when those individuals come from a background different than our own.”
How do you rank and define “need” for legal services
Published 20/06/2018
Australia are looking to redress the problem of restricted funding for free legal advice by targeting services to those in greatest need. With half the population experiencing a legal problem each year the challenge is in identifying these individuals so that services can be designed appropriately to meet their needs. This paper form the Law And Justice Foundation of New South Wales looks at one methodology for identification by geographic location.
New research examines the role of community workers in helping people with legal problems
Published 07/06/2018
Recently published research by The Law Foundation of Ontario examines the role of intermediaries in connecting people to legal information and legal help.
Canada focusing on creating a more efficient and effective family justice system
Published 07/06/2018
In the first substantial update of Canada's federal family laws in 20 years, the Canadian Government is progressing on providing a family justice system that works for families and is both accessible and efficient.
Is human centred design key to making courts work for litigants in person?
Published 06/06/2018
Margaret Hagen, Lecturer at Stanford Law School and Director of Stanford Legal Design Lab has produced a paper with suggestions on how courts may make themselves more usable for litigants in person.
International Journal of Public Legal Education
Published 21/11/2017
(Author: Richard Grimes, Editorial Board member, International Journal of Public Legal Education) Access to justice is not just about being able to find and afford a lawyer. Being aware of rights (and responsibilities) is an important component of the A2J debate. Legal literacy is vitally important both in terms of recognising problems and knowing what to do and where to go.
DoNotPay launches 1,000 new bots to help people with their legal problems
Published 18/07/2017
Update from TechCrunch on the latest development of DoNotPay which includes a brief video showing how it works.
