Enhancing Access to Justice through People-centred Justice: Ireland, Italy, Malta and the Netherlands

Access to justice for all is guaranteed by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Yet the justice gap remains wide. Legal needs surveys consistently show that while many people face justice problems, from family and housing issues to debts and employment disputes, a very significant part is never resolved. In response, a growing number of countries are reforming their justice systems to make them more focused on the experiences and needs of users and more effective at resolving problems and achieving fair outcomes.

Making justice systems more effective and people centred requires a shift from institution-centred models to user-centred justice systems that start from the needs, experiences and outcomes of people, as reflected in the OECD Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems in 2023. This multi-country project provides targeted support to national reforms in Ireland, Italy, Malta and the Netherlands.

In Ireland, the OECD conducted the country’s first legal needs survey, in collaboration with the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, and in partnership with the World Justice Project. The survey generated robust evidence on the prevalence and clustering of legal needs and justice problems and people’s experiences in trying to resolve them. The survey results offer an evidence-base to inform reform priorities and implementation. 

In Italy, the OECD implemented a People-Centred Justice Skills Survey to identify the justice workforce’s perceived skills, ambitions, and capacity-building needs. Piloted in selected courts, the survey aims to support evidence-based improvements in justice delivery and strengthen capacities for a more accessible, responsive, and inclusive justice system. 

In Malta, the OECD conducted several workshops with Maltese justice stakeholders to improve access to justice for people with disabilities through an inclusive and participatory approach and co-create actionable recommendations. The project is supporting the strengthening of mediation with the development of an OECD mediation mapping to help the Malta Mediation Centre identify relevant best practices for ongoing reforms.

In the Netherlands, the OECD applied a ‘user-stories’ approach through workshops, placing justice users at the centre of justice reform efforts. Interviews with stakeholders and focus groups with frontline providers helped map justice pathway and co-create actionable policy recommendations to improve access to justice. 

The project will develop: 

• Diagnosis reports on the state of people-centred justice in each country, informed by data from the legal needs surveys, an assessment of government policy and system characteristics, interviews with stakeholders, co-creation workshops and country visits. 

• Roadmaps and action plans proposing reforms to enhance access to justice in each country, grounded in the diagnosis report and in consultation with stakeholders. 

• Policy indicators for people-centred justice and collaboration with countries for data-collection and monitoring.  

• Final report including country chapters and a cross-country analysis highlighting key findings and lessons learned.

• Diagnosis Report Ireland (forthcoming)

• Diagnosis Report Italy (forthcoming)

• Diagnosis Report Malta (forthcoming)

• Diagnosis Report Netherlands (forthcoming)  

• Enhancing Access to Justice through People-Centred Justice (forthcoming)

• Irish Government's press release on the preliminary findings of the LNS

• Report of the Malta Launch (forthcoming)

• Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems.

Contact: gov.accesstojustice@oecd.org