KPAC24 Session organised by the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law
20 November 2024 | 13:00-14:30
Session Language: French (English translation TBD)
Complete Session Title: Rebuilding Trust and the Social Contract Through People-Centred Policies: Using Data to Put Litigants Back at the Heart of Justice
Session Description:
According to the research, after decades of uninterrupted progress, democracy is in retreat, a retreat exacerbated by strong interconnected global trends exerting enormous pressure on countries and their citizens, and on the level of trust in government. As a result, despite efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all by 2030, progress is ‘dangerously lagging’, according to the OECD. For the United Nations: ‘In the case of Goal 16, we note that progress in violence reduction, access to justice, inclusive governance and peaceful societies is stagnating or declining’ (UNODC, OHCHR and UNDP, 2023).
Access to justice is one of the cornerstones of democracy and the rule of law. The inadequacy of justice systems - between what people want, what they need and what our systems deliver (the justice gap-HiiL) - is a factor that reflects and contributes to both the decline of the rule of law and the decline of public trust in governments with repercussions for democratic governance.
Person-centred justice is needed to reverse the trend.
By giving people back a voice to express their needs and priorities (diagnosis), stakeholders and governments have the data to guide their strategies and reforms (design) and implement policies and services that effectively and fairly prevent and resolve justice problems (delivery).
This session is in line with the recent round table organised by the OECD in Ottawa: building trust through people-centred justice. The topic will be introduced by Marie Duprez-Compaoré, who will introduce the concepts of people-centred justice and its close links with the Open Government Partnership. Four eminent experts from Burkina Faso and Niger will then present their thoughts and the good practices they have experienced:
Dr Thomas Ouédraogo, Director of the Centre for Democratic Governance (CGD), will emphasise the vital importance of data in documenting the real needs of those subject to the law, drawing on the CGD's experience in producing studies on justice needs and satisfaction (JNS).
Maitre Hamadou Mounkaila Kadidiatou, a lawyer at the Niamey bar and founder of the Association pour la Défense et la Protection de l'Enfant et de la Femme au Niger, will illustrate the importance of data in the design of public action and present innovations that work effectively to improve women's access to justice.
Maiguizo Kane Mahaman Mansour, Chef de Canton of Tessaoua, Niger, will talk about the role of chiefs in the justice system in Niger and share his experience and specific examples of integrating traditional justice systems into the judicial system.
Cedric Tapsoba, in charge of innovation at HiiL Burkina Faso, will present a specific process undertaken in Burkina Faso to formally integrate traditional dispute resolution mechanisms and will review the opportunities and challenges in the context of people-centred justice.