Justice as a Public Service

Executive summary

Amid rapid technological and societal change, constrained public finances, and persistent concerns about trust in public institutions, justice systems must increasingly operate as responsive public services. Such services are accessible, understandable and able to direct people to the forms of assistance and dispute resolution that are most effective at resolving their problems. This is central to the OECD Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems.

This report offers an assessment of the state of people-centred justice across OECD and Justice Action Coalition Members and partner countries. It provides the first cross-country application of the OECD Measurement Framework for People-Centred Justice Systems, combining population-based evidence on people’s justice problems, pathways and outcomes with an assessment of the government policies and institutional arrangements intended to support them. The findings suggest significant scope to improve how justice systems deliver for people and businesses.

Justice problems remain widespread and consequential

Justice problems remain common: in a typical country, more than four in ten people experience at least one non-trivial justice problem over a two-year period, and around half of those affected face wider consequences for their finances, employment, health or relationships. Across countries, the median resolution rate is 70%, meaning that around three in ten people do not consider their justice problem fully resolved at the end of their justice journey. And only 60% report that the process of resolving their problem was fair. Meanwhile the median trust in judges and magistrates stands at 56%. These findings show why the effectiveness of justice systems cannot be measured solely through caseloads, processing times or the number of completed cases. What ultimately matters is whether problems are resolved, processes are fair, and broader social and economic harm is prevented.

People face gaps in obtaining appropriate support

A key challenge emerges along the justice journey. While 67% of people with justice problems know where to find information, only 38% of those who need personalised assistance or advice obtain it, and only 42% of them are able to access the dispute resolution mechanism they need. These indicators cover different eligible populations and should not be interpreted as a sequential pathway. Nevertheless, they reveal a pronounced gap between making information available and enabling people to act. People need clear pathways that connect information to appropriate assistance, advice and, where necessary, tailored dispute resolution. Creating such pathways requires effective intake, triage, referral and follow-up across courts, legal aid providers, administrative bodies, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, ombuds institutions, social services and community-based justice providers, so that people are directed to appropriate support without having to navigate complex institutional structures.

Reforms remain fragmented across institutions and services

Countries are taking important steps towards more people-centred justice systems, but progress remains uneven and reforms are often fragmented. Commitments to access to justice and people-centred service delivery are increasingly reflected in justice strategies and institutional reforms, yet shared goals across justice systems remain underdeveloped. Likewise, while most countries have measures to address bias and discrimination, systematic analysis of differences in justice experiences and outcomes across population groups remains limited. Planning and accountability continue to be organised largely around institutional boundaries, even though people’s justice problems often cut across them. Better co-ordination does not require a single institutional model: it requires diverse institutions to work towards shared outcomes while respecting their distinct roles and independence.

Evidence is not used systematically to shape services and resources

Justice institutions routinely collect data on caseloads, backlogs, processing times and organisational activity, but these indicators provide only a partial picture. They do not capture problems that never reach an institution, people who disengage from a process, or situations that are not recognised as having a legal dimension in the first place. Regular evidence on legal needs should complement administrative data and be systematically linked to prevention, service design, planning and budgeting. Resource allocation and performance frameworks should more clearly connect demonstrated needs and expected outcomes with resources, services and results for people, including accessibility, service quality, fairness, problem resolution and the wider consequences of justice problems.

Digital transformation and data governance need a system-wide focus

Digital portals, electronic filing, remote hearings and electronic case management are widespread, but technology is still frequently used to transfer existing procedures online rather than redesign services around users. Only around one-third of assessed countries demonstrate a digital-by-design approach. Digital reform should simplify processes, connect services and reduce administrative burdens while preserving telephone, face-to-face and community channels for people who cannot use digital services. Stronger governance, common definitions, quality standards and secure data-sharing arrangements are also needed to make information usable across institutional boundaries.

Policy Recommendations

Finally, people-centred justice depends on a stronger culture of continuous improvement. Based on the findings and analysis in the report, countries are recommended to:

• Establish a people-centred purpose for the justice system, translated into measurable outcomes, shared goals and public accountability.

• Build an evidence base on legal needs, justice pathways and what works to achieve fair outcomes, and use it to guide reform, investment and evaluation.

• Develop coherent end-to-end pathways connecting information, personalised assistance, effective intake and referral and appropriate dispute resolution.

• Design services around differences in people’s capabilities, preferences, circumstances, location and the nature of their problems.

• Shift from digitising existing procedures to transforming services around users, simpler processes and connected delivery.

• Strengthen justice data governance through clear responsibilities, common definitions, quality standards and appropriate information sharing.

• Put participation, user feedback and legal empowerment at the centre of policy design and continuous service improvement.

• Connect planning and financing more clearly to evidence on needs, services, performance and outcomes for people and businesses.

• Strengthen prevention and early intervention, including links with services addressing the wider consequences of justice problems.

The central challenge is to move beyond institution-by-institution reform towards strategic stewardship of the justice system as a whole. Stronger evidence, connected services, outcome-focused financing and continuous learning can help make justice systems more responsive, adaptive and effective.