Justice Policy Series, Part I
        Access to 
        Justice
        Open Government  
        Partnership 
        Global Report
        DEMOCRACY BEYOND THE BALLOT BOX                                ACCESS TO JUSTICE        1      
        2          OGP GLOBAL REPORT     
            Table of contents
            Key points                                                                       4
            Why access to justice matters to OGP                                             7
            How access to justice fares in OGP                                             13
               Legal problems                                                               15
               Legal capability                                                             20
               Access to legal help                                                         24
               Justice processes                                                            30
               Justice outcomes                                                             35
            Improving OGP access to justice commitments                                    39
            Annex: Methods                                                                 42
              About OGP & justice policy series
              This paper is the first of three in a series on justice released as a part of the 
              Open Government Partnership Global Report. In the coming months, the Open 
              Government Partnership (OGP) will issue papers on Open Justice and Justice 
              as a Means to Enforce Open Government. The series aims to highlight the 
              important synergies between justice and open government and the ways in 
              which countries can use OGP to make accountable, credible improvements to 
              their justice systems. 
              The Global Report can be found at: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/
              campaigns/global-report/. 
              More information about the Open Government Partnership and how it works can be 
              found at: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/about. 
                                                                             ACCESS TO JUSTICE        3      
                        Key points
                        The Open Government Partnership (OGP) helps 
                        governments and civil society advance access to 
                        justice at national and local levels.
                        •  Existing OGP commitments on access to 
                              justice can spur new commitments across 
                              the OGP community. A number of OGP 
                              countries have undertaken reforms for access to 
                              justice through their two-year OGP action plans, 
                              which provide an excellent basis for peer-to-peer 
                              learning and local adaptation.
                        •  A clear framework for developing OGP 
                              commitments on access to justice exists. 
                              OGP countries’ access to justice commitments can 
                              be divided into five primary categories, which also 
                              serve as a conceptual framework for designing 
                              future commitments. These categories are: 
                               1.    developing and deploying legal needs 
                                     assessments; 
                               2.    enhancing the legal capability of individuals 
                                     through improved access to information; 
                               3.    improving participation in the justice system 
                                     by strengthening access to and quality of legal 
                                     help; 
                               4.    strengthening forums and processes used to 
                                     resolve justice problems; and
                               5.    improving outcomes and reducing hardship 
                                     for those with legal need.
                        •  This paper examines where the gaps are 
                              within 60 OGP countries, using the dataset 
                              found in the World Justice Project’s Global 
                              Insights on Access to Justice 2019. Based 
                              on these findings, we offer suggestions on how 
                              countries can use their OGP action plans to 
                              improve access to justice and highlight ambitious  
                              or successful existing commitments.
                        4          OGP GLOBAL REPORT