This project will investigate how access to justice is understood and implemented in Asia and other key jurisdictions, by considering the concept of pro bono. Provision of legal services to indigent persons is one method of implementing access to justice, and this project will focus on legal services by examining how different jurisdictions have experimented with pro bono in general and mandatory pro bono in particular. Asia presents a compelling variety of environments to compare, both within Asia and between Asia and other countries.

The three aims of this project are to:

• Accurately present the current state of legal aid and professional obligations regarding access to justice in Asian jurisdictions;
• Contribute, to the access to justice literature, a critique of how access to justice is conceptualised and implemented in Asia and other countries via schemes of pro bono and mandatory pro bono; and
• Examine mechanisms for comparing Asian and western schemes of pro bono and mandatory pro bono, thereby enhancing understanding of access to justice on a global scale and supporting the policy decision making process.