Description

Jurisdictions around the world face challenges in access to justice raised by indigent persons who cannot afford legal assistance. This project, Lawyers & Access to Justice: Challenging Pro Bono, brings together a group of scholars from a variety of jurisdictions to expand our understanding of the way different countries approach a lawyer’s role in access to justice. Scholarship in primarily western countries identifies pro bono as a central issue, and while in some jurisdictions this phrase has meaning, in others it does not. This project focuses on Asia and other key jurisdictions whose access to justice environments are compelling but not well documented or which provide useful comparative case studies.

In a research Symposium at NUS Faculty of Law, scholars discussed the relationship between lawyers and access to justice in their country and explored key factors which influence this relationship. The speakers aimed to:

• Accurately present the current state of legal aid and professional obligations regarding access to justice in their jurisdictions, and how lawyers and other stakeholders interact;
• Contribute, to the access to justice literature, a critique of how access to justice is conceptualised and the different ways it is implemented, including strategies such as voluntary and mandatory pro bono, participation in government-funded schemes, and law firm foundations; and
• Provide a basis for comparing access to justice across jurisdictions, thereby enhancing understanding of access to justice on a global scale and supporting the policy-making process.

The ‘Lawyers & Access to Justice: Challenging Pro Bono’ Symposium, organised by the Centre for Asian Legal Studies (CALS), was held on 8 & 9 June 2017 at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore (Bukit Timah Campus).