What does it mean to put people at the centre of justice?

At the Advancing People-Centred Justice in Canada conference, several sessions explored the importance of listening to people who navigate justice systems and creating meaningful opportunities for them to participate in justice reform.

The following resources examine lived experience, participation, power, and the barriers that can prevent people from being heard.

Experience as Knowledge

Having a Say: Democracy, Access to Justice and Self-Represented Litigants

Jennifer Leitch’s 2016 doctoral dissertation draws on the experiences of self-represented litigants to examine access to justice as a question of meaningful participation. It considers how people can have a greater voice in the legal processes and institutions that affect their lives.

Participation and Power

HELP-M Toolkit (également disponible en français)

The HELP-M Toolkit helps family mediators identify and respond to family violence, coercive control, power imbalances, and safety concerns. It offers guidance for conducting safer and more appropriate family mediation.

How to Make Legal Proceedings in Canada More Child Friendly?

In this 2025 Canadian Bar Review article, Anne Levesque, Daniella Bendo, Jean-Frédéric Hübsch, and Mona Paré examine barriers children and youth face when defending their rights in Canada. Drawing on research into human rights commissions and tribunals, child and youth advocates, ombudsman offices, and international human rights mechanisms, the authors identify practices that could make legal proceedings more accessible, participatory, and responsive to children.

Access to Justice for Trans People (également disponible en français)

Published by the Canadian Bar Association, the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario, and the TRANSforming JUSTICE Research Team, this report draws on the experiences of trans people to identify legal problems, systemic barriers, and opportunities for reform. It emphasizes trans leadership, intersectional analysis, preventative approaches, and changes extending beyond courts and tribunals.

A Public-Centred Understanding of Access to Justice

“What is Access to Justice?”

Trevor Farrow’s article develops a public-centred understanding of access to justice, informed in part by research into how members of the public understand justice. It argues for placing the people who use justice systems at the centre of access-to-justice research and reform.

Watch the Conference Sessions

The related conference sessions are also available online:

• Before Data, We Listen: Reclaiming Experience as Knowledge
• Nothing About Us Without Us: Rethinking Participation and Power in Justice

This is the first in AJRN’s September series sharing resources connected to the 2026 Advancing People-Centred Justice in Canada conference.

See you next week for more!