Tag justice

Justice Canada Releases First Federal Indigenous Justice Strategy

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Canada’s Department of Justice, in collaboration with First Nations, Inuit and Métis published the first federal Indigenous Justice Strategy. The Indigenous Justice Strategy seeks to “advance effective and concrete measures, shaped by the lived experiences of First Nations, Inuit and Métis, to improve Canada’s justice system and to support the revitalization of Indigenous laws.”

The first phase of the Indigenous Justice Strategy was pre-engagement, which took place during the summer of 2021. This was followed by Indigenous-led and Justice Canada-led engagement; reporting and development; validation; and the publication of the final Indigenous Justice Strategy on 10 March 2025. As part of its vision, the Indigenous Justice Strategy report notes that, “the Indigenous Justice Strategy aims to implement progressive and transformative reforms throughout the justice system to meaningfully address systemic discrimination and the overrepresentation of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people in contact with the Canadian justice system.”

In addition to presenting a vision, the Indigenous Justice Strategy report outlines (i) Principles and Goals, (ii) the Implementation of the Indigenous Justice Strategy, (iii) Priority Actions, (iv) First Nations Priorities, (v) Inuit Priorities, and (vi) Métis Priorities, among other items. Priority Actions discussed in the report include the following:

  • Collaborative relationship and accountability
  • Long-term and predictable funding
  • Justice and wellness
  • Administration of justice and access to justice – policing
  • Administration of justice and access to justice – corrections
  • Administration of justice and access to justice – revitalization and enforcement
  • Administration of justice and access to justice – legislation

The Indigenous Justice Strategy is available in English here: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/ijr-dja/ijs-sja/tijs-lsja/index.html.

Stratégie en matière de justice autochtone est disponible en français ici : https://www.justice.gc.ca/fra/sjc-csj/dja-ijr/sja-ijs/lsja-tijs/index.html.

The Justice Canada news release about the Indigenous Justice Strategy is available here: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-justice/news/2025/03/canadas-first-federal-indigenous-justice-strategy-to-address-systemic-discrimination-and-overrepresentation-in-the-canadian-justice-system.html.

New U.S.-based Report Provides Framework for Achieving Civil Justice

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The final report from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences’ Making Justice Accessible project discusses the civil justice gap, current successes in the civil justice field, and a framework for securing civil justice for all Americans. The “Achieving Civil Justice: A Framework for Collaboration” report explores the potential of a “pluralistic and pragmatic” approach to civil justice. The report underscores the importance of programs and efforts that allow for listening and learning from underserved populations, providing legal help where people already are, leveraging innovative technology to make access easier, training to better support people with legal needs, and partnership-building with a view to expanding funding, resources, and innovation in the field.

The report identifies four ways to help improve access to civil justice:

  • Organize civil justice efforts around the people seeking civil legal help
  • Coordinate, connect, and participate with others working at the local, state, and national level to share best practices, scholarship, and emerging strategies
  • Apply an evidence-based approach
  • Make adjustments as projects evolve

The Academy of Arts & Sciences’ “Achieving Civil Justice: A Framework for Collaboration” report is available online here: https://www.amacad.org/publication/achieving-civil-justice.

Content for this post was gleaned from the final Achieving Civil Justice: A Framework for Collaboration report.

New OECD Report Provides Guidance on Measuring and Improving Access to Justice in Courts

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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a new policy paper aimed at helping countries adopt the OECD’s Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems. “Measuring and Improving Access to Justice in Courts: Learning from the United Kingdom’s Experience” outlines a replicable model for developing an evidence-based approach for defining, measuring, improving, and monitoring access to justice in court services.

The report presents details on the following seven pillars for advancing these access-to-justice objectives:

  • Review the organisational foundations of access to justice before engaging in work to measure and improve access to justice
  • Adopt a clear definition of access to justice, in consultation with justice stakeholders
  • Measure access to justice in ways that align with the organizational definition and data strategy.
  • Understand existing barriers and challenges and their underlying causes
  • Identify and adopt targeted improvements for court services
  • Monitor the changes and data; ensure there is a plan for tracking progress
  • Identify and address evidence gaps

The OECD report on “Measuring and Improving Access to Justice in Courts: Learning from the United Kingdom’s Experience” is available online here: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/governance/measuring-and-improving-access-to-justice-in-court-services_a8226ccc-en.

Information in this post was gleaned from the OECD Measuring and Improving Access to Justice in Courts report.