Month March 2024

UVic Access to Justice Centre for Excellence Launches Justice Data and Design Lab

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The Access to Justice Centre for Excellence at the University of Victoria (UVic ACE) has released its first data update from the recently launched Justice Data and Design Lab (JDD). The JDD, which is housed at ACE, provides access to justice data insights specific to British Columbia.

Working with graduate students from the faculties of law and data science, the JDD has published data on the legal needs of British Columbians gleaned from social media site, Reddit.

Those interested in access to justice are encouraged to access the new JDD Interactive Display, which provides information on the types of legal problems people in B.C. are asking for help with on Reddit as of January 2024.

For information on how to download and view the interactive display, contact ACE at https://bcace.org/contact.

To better understand the type of data that the JDD is collecting and what they are learning from the data, there is a video explaining the data, available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LI7dpj9qZluZXAgXNFsKGFHh4qYm1WAV/view.

For general information on the Justice Data and Design Lab, visit: https://bcace.org/justice-data-and-design-lab. To learn more about the Access to Justice Centre for Excellence, visit: https://bcace.org/.

Virtual New York-Based Conference to focus on AI, A2J and Law School

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New York State’s Permanent Commission on Access to Justice is collaborating with Fordham University’s School of Law for a conference on artificial intelligence, access to justice, and law school. “Let’s Talk AI and A2J: How Law Schools, Civil Legal Services, and the Courts Together Can Harness Technology to Address the Justice Gap” will take place on Thursday, April 11, 2024, from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET via Zoom. This virtual conference is free to attend. The deadline to register is Friday, April 5.

The (in-progress) conference agenda is available online here: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/accesstojusticecommission/ls/2024agenda.shtml. For more information about the conference, please visit: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/accesstojusticecommission/ls2024.

Virtual Event to Highlight Strategies and Collaborative Efforts for Enhancing Access to Justice Globally

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On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will host the 3rd Summit for Democracy. The event, which takes place in South Korea, seeks to highlight “innovative strategies and collaborative efforts in strengthening the people-centered rule of law and enhancing access to justice globally, with a view to strengthening democratic resilience”.

Among the event’s intended objectives are:

  • To showcase successful policies and practices that have been implemented to strengthen the people-centred rule of law and improve access to justice across countries
  • To facilitate a dialogue among policymakers, legal practitioners, civil society representatives, and international organisations on current challenges and opportunities in promoting people-centricity in the rule of law and justice for all.
  • To identify priority areas for international cooperation and partnership to further advance people-centred justice and the rule of law on a global scale.

Participants can join the event online. The event is scheduled to begin at 7:00 a.m. (EST) / 20:00 (KST) / 12:00 (CET). For more information, or to register, please visit: https://www.sdg16.plus/events/strengthening-the-rule-of-law-and-access-to-justice-for-healthy-democracies/.

Information about this event was taken from a news release about the event.

Request for Proposals for the Self-Represented Litigation Network Conference

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The U.S.-based Self-Represented Litigation Network (SRLN) has published a request for proposals for a conference, taking place in Salt Lake City, Utah from September 18-20, 2024.

The 2024 Conference is being held in collaboration with the Utah State Courts, the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah and the Stanford Law School Legal Design Lab. From September 18 to 20, lawyers, judges, clerks of court and court administrators, self-help services professionals, librarians, technologists, funders, and other allied professionals are invited to explore and develop strategies for improving access to justice. The SRLN’s global membership includes more than 2,900 individuals and organizations, representing more than 20 countries. Justice stakeholders are invited to submit a proposal by April 8 to ensure that their jurisdiction and perspectives are represented at the fall conference: https://www.srln.org/node/1608/srln-2024-conference-utah.

UK Law Commission Report Explores Benefits of Law Reforms for Economy and Society

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A recently published UK Law Commission report provides an update from 2019 to 2023 of the benefits for the economy and society derived from law reforms.

The report identifies efficiency gains, technology driven growth, harm prevention, well-being improvement, rule of law, access to justice, modernising the legal system, and thought leadership as outcomes of the Law Commission’s projects. The report also confirms benefits for the economy valued at £670 million over 10 years, and the potential for positive impacts for more than 5 million people and over 75% of households from the implementation of other initiatives.

In addition to details on the Law Commission’s outputs, and how the impacts of the Law Commissions reforms are measured, the report also includes recommendations for further research.

The Law Commission’s “Value of Law Reform: Update” report is available in English and Welsh here: https://lawcom.gov.uk/document/the-value-of-law-reform/.

Information for this post was gleaned from the Law Commission report.