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Key Text Expanding Access to Justice: Legal Aid Models For Latin America

Author: R Rhudy
Date: 2000
Size: 64 pages

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Summary

Can systems of justice in Latin America and the Caribbean be made accessible to the poor? Does legal aid hold the answer, and if so, what mechanisms of financing and delivery best ensure an effective and efficient service?

This second chapter in Justice Beyond Our Border analyses various models of legal aid and access to justice, considering how they might be applied in Latin America and the Caribbean. Numerous local factors will affect how particular models might be developed in a particular context with performance often depending on factors independent of the model's structure itself, including leadership, governance structures, issues related to funding and the environment within which it operates. Mixed models of service delivery are recommended, whose nature, ratios, components and timings are dependent on local needs, culture and circumstances to provide the required range and level of legal services and access to justice.

In evaluating the models analysed, a number of issues are raised. A range of factors need to be taken into account in considering the expansion of legal aid and access to justice in Latin America. Findings include the following:

Legal services models can reflect a wide range of variations in activities and operations
A state's respect for the rule of law for all citizens will impact on reforms, as systems of governance without the rule of law mean efforts to expand legal aid and access to justice are unlikely to be successful
The status of the judiciary and other dispute resolution institutions, issues of independence, integrity, competence and efficiency must be considered in determining what functions a legal aid system can successfully provide
The status of the legal profession generally, including its size, composition, regulation, the people it provides services for and the culture it propagates, will impact on reforms
The status of legal aid itself, the make-up of the client population and other factors such as the level of economic development, the distribution of economic resources and the level of technological development are key.

Mixed models are the most effective means of delivering legal aid and access to justice services. However, questions remain in determining the mix. Implications and recommendations include the following:

Funding is required for the establishment, operation and maintenance of adequate legal aid and access to justice systems. Public support is required, combined with private contributions
Support for the development of a mixed model of legal aid should originate with the various interest groups seeking personal and civic benefits from such a system
National legal aid development and planning should be conducted under the auspices of the appropriate national office and can help develop public consensus on issues of reasoning, cost, systems and timing
The sequencing of activities is important where resistance exists to the expansion of legal aid, starting with the provision of basic information on legal rights
Models attracting the necessary support for providing appropriate legal services in the most effective way will vary from country to country.

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Source: Rhudy, R., 'Expanding access to justice: legal aid models for Latin America', chapter 2 in 'Justice Beyond Our Border: Judicial Reforms for Latin America and the Caribbean', C. Biebesheimer and F. Mejia, eds, Inter-american Development Bank, Washington DC.
Author: Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), http://www.iadb.org
Organisation: John Hopkins University Press, http://www.press.jhu.edu/