People, communities and businesses today are navigating a period of complexity and uncertainty. They face overlapping pressures, including economic uncertainty, environmental challenges, geopolitical tensions, and digital transformation, and look for reassurance that institutions are sufficiently fair, responsive, and capable of adapting to these challenges. This, in turn, requires effective governance.
The rule of law is at the heart of effective governance, underpinning prosperity, fairness, and trust. Yet in many countries, people’s lived experience can be at odds with the promise of the rule of law. Justice systems may be inaccessible or slow, provide low quality services or lead to unfair outcomes. The available services may not be tailored to specific needs or may not be effective at resolving common justice problems, leaving individuals and businesses exposed to uncertainty, as well as grievances at the individual level and a lack of fairness at the level of society and the economy. This report makes the case for a more responsive rule of law—one that addresses today’s challenges, meets people’s expectations, and supports resilient societies, prosperity and well-being.
The 2023 OECD Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems provides governments with a framework to transform justice systems so they are more inclusive, fair, and effective. Drawing on the Recommendation, this report highlights the urgent need to transform the justice system through strong leadership, sustained political commitment and cross-sector collaboration. It shows how legal empowerment and prevention of justice problems can strengthen people’s ability to resolve issues, improve their experience of public services, and enhance economic competitiveness — especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It explores how to design people-centred justice processes and services that are accessible, data-driven and tailored to the needs of specific groups. Finally, it examines administrative justice as the vital interface between people and institutions, where fairness and responsiveness directly shape public trust.
The report is part of the OECD Public Governance Directorate’s work on Reinforcing Democracy and Enhancing Trust in Public Institutions.