Press Release: Making people-centred justice work

Justice innovators and legal practitioners to gather from February 8 to 10 for the 11th annual Innovating Justice Forum convened by The Hague Institute for the Innovation of Law.

The Hague – The Hague Institute for the Innovation of Law (HiiL), in close collaboration with the International Task Force on Justice and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will convene from February 8 to 10 leading justice sector experts and practitioners for the 11th annual Innovating Justice Forum (IJF). The virtual conference will highlight essential contributions in people-friendly justice and focus on Making People-centred Justice Work.

“People’s justice needs have become more urgent than ever,” said Sam Muller, CEO at HiiL. “Even before COVID-19 and the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic, legal systems and institutions around the globe struggled to address people’s justice concerns. Nonetheless, justice systems have a vital role to play as a platform for helping societies rebound from the pandemic, and we have seen some positive changes and advancements in the justice sector. At HiiL, we call these innovating organisations and their respective tools ‘Gamechangers.’”

According to the World Justice Report, an estimated 5 billion people globally have unmet justice needs. Shrinking this justice gap will require coordination and support from international organisations such as the UN. Simultaneously, however, the public sector, entrepreneurs, and civic society have initiated approaches and responsive solutions to address their respective communities’ needs. These efforts have been significant for realising the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 16.3 – equal access to justice for all.

Bridging the justice gap with ‘Gamechangers’

With over a decade of experience and expertise in supporting justice innovations, HiiL has gathered significant insights into the kind of services and innovations that spur change and development. Known as Gamechangers, these service providers include private startups and innovative interventions throughout the justice sector. They provide sustainable and scalable opportunities for creative disruption and offer great potential for attracting investment to advance people-centred justice. 

The Forum 2021 will build on HiiL’s knowledge and research of Gamechangers to work with partners and stakeholders to help integrate and scale justice system solutions. 

Seven Gamechangers themes have been identified for the 2021 Forum:

1.    Community Justice Services

2.    User-friendly contracts and other legal documents

3.    One-stop dispute resolution platforms

4.    Problem Solving Courts for Criminal Cases

5.    Claiming services to help people access vital public services

6.    Prevention programmes or services that ensure safety and security through technology

7.    People-centered online information/advice with follow up services

Altogether, the innovations in each theme reimagine the way justice is delivered.

“IJF is designed for conversations and concrete partnerships on Gamechanging services,” said Kanan Dhru, Justice Innovation Researcher at HiiL. “We want to achieve scale and sustainability, highlighting HiiL’s research and data towards this effort. The Forum presents real-life examples of entrepreneurial people developing justice solutions that prioritise the justice needs of people. This will be especially important for justice efforts looking past a COVID-19 world”.

To date, more than 600 practitioners have registered to participate in the Forum. This includes 42 speakers representing10 countries and an additional 21 innovator pitches from nine countries. 

For more information about the 2021 Innovating Justice Forum, visit: https://innovatingjusticeforum.hiil.org/about-the-forum/ 

Further Reading:

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Contact information
Kanan Dhru
Justice Innovation Researcher and Content Lead, IJF
T: +31 (0) 70 762 0700 | E: communications@hiil.org

HiiL – user-friendly justice:

HiiL (The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law) is a social enterprise devoted to user-friendly justice. That means justice that is easy to access, easy to understand, and useful. We will ensure that by 2030, 150 million people will prevent or resolve their most pressing justice problems. We do this by stimulating innovation and scaling what works best. We are friendly rebels focused on concrete improvements in the lives of people. Data and evidence are central in all that we do. We are based in The Hague, the City of Peace and Justice.

(HiiL, Fluwelen Burgwal 58, 2511 CJ The Hague, The Netherlands, www.hiil.org)

About the 2021 Innovating Justice Forum

The Innovating Justice Forum (IJF) is a three day conference featuring justice-sector practitioners and innovators to exchange knowledge and ideas that realise user-friendly justice. The 2021 IJF will feature a series of dialogues to illuminate the potential in developing further justice solutions that emphasise people-centred justice. These entrepreneurial ‘Gamechanging’ services and tools will bring to light successful public-private partnership models within the justice sector. They will also – through data and collective purpose – encourage scale and sustainability across geographies. Together, we can strengthen justice systems around the world to make people-centred justice work and advance responsive justice solutions to over 150 million people by 2030.