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(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2024 9(1), 261-274 | European Forum Insight of 08 July 2024 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. Art. 9(3) of the Aarhus Convention and access to justice. - III. Art. 9(3) and the EU legal system: a story of uneasy bedfellows. - IV. The “sectoral” approach and its shortcomings. - iv.1. The genesis of the “sectoral” approach. - iv.2. Analysis of the sectoral provisions: a patchwork of inconsistent approaches. - V. Conclusion | (Abstract) Access to justice in environmental matters is one of the three pillars of the Aarhus Convention, to which both the EU and its Member States are Parties. In the Convention, access to justice is subdivided into four limbs. Art. 9(3) contains the general obligation of access to review procedures for the public of acts and omissions of private persons and public authorities concerning national law relating to the envi-ronment. Art. 9(3) had to be transposed by the Parties to the Convention, taking the discretion left by the vague wording of the provision into account. At the EU level, unlike for art. 9(1) and (2), there is no formal transposition of art. 9(3) in a dedicated Directive, because of Member States’ reluctance. The so-lution found by the Commission to remedy this lack of EU legislation on the matter was the publication of a soft law instrument in 2017. Since then, we have witnessed a shift in the approach used by the EU legislator, with access to justice provisions being incorporated directly into several pieces of “sectoral” legislation (Regulations and Directives), across various environmental areas. This Insight aims at retrac-ing the history of art. 9(3) of the Aarhus Convention in the EU legal order and at analysing and evaluat-ing the recent tendency of including access to justice rights in sectoral legislation.

The representative, whether legally appointed or chosen by the party, has an important role to play in the shaping of a case, from the moment the case is referred to the judicial authority, until exercising the right to appeal. Thus, if representation is not effective, the problem of a violation of the fundamental right to a fair trial arises. However, the real challenge lies in determining how the quality of representation can be assessed, who can decide on it and what remedies exist and are desirable in order to avoid the violation of the right to a fair trial, in terms of the right of access to justice, in civil matters, and also with regard to the right to be defended by a lawyer, in criminal matters.

Victims of recurrent crimes, particularly Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) victims, encounter unique challenges with the criminal justice system. The risk of repeat violence and retaliation deters them from engaging with legal processes, emphasising the critical need for effective protection measures in domestic and cross-border contexts. Protection orders, pivotal in preventing further victimisation, primarily operate within the issuing State, which has prompted the European Union to establish legal instruments based on the principle of mutual recognition to extend their applicability beyond national borders. Despite this, these measures are strikingly underused. This article delves into the root causes of this underutilisation and questions the overall usability of these measures by its beneficiaries. It also explores potential legal and non-legal solutions to transform them into a tangible resource for victims of recurring crimes across the EU.

The Brazilian Judicial System is studied based on quantitative data spanning from the Constitution of 1988 to the present day. During this period, there has been a notable growth and strengthening of judicial institutions, accompanied by a significant increase in societal demand. The research aims to gather information on cases, judges, members of the Public Prosecution, public defenders, lawyers, law courses, and law students in order to obtain three types of data. The first type includes historical series that enable interpretations of events that have taken place over time in Brazil. The second type consists of comparative data, particularly based on information provided by the European Council regarding predominantly European countries, in order to draw parallels with the situation in dozens of countries. The third type of data is created for interpreting the first two types, including doctrinal considerations or new research undertaken to understand the main findings. With this tripartite approach, the goal is to comprehend the Brazilian judicial system in itself and in comparison with other countries.

The article explores the differences between the way justice is dispensed in Brazil and the way trial hearings are conducted in France. I suggest two distinctions for understanding trial-related judicial practices, with, on the one hand, the emphasis on access to justice through acts and acts of access, and on the other, the organization of judicial hearings in the form of cabinet hearings or in the presence of an audience. Finally, I maintain that Brazilian justice is organized in such a way as to serve the ends of the trial.

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Law & Society/Revue Canadienne Droit et Societe (Cambridge University Press) is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper a baseline of contemporary access to justice research is established. The baseline clearly illustrates key features of the research field suggesting that while the field of research has become more multifaceted in the course of the last two or three decades, it is nevertheless very much dominated by law scholarship and structural analysis of legal service provision. Departing from this overview of access to justice research as of today, five calls for future research on access to justice explicated in the reviewed literature is presented and discussed. I argue that future research on access to justice should: 1) Reach a clearer understanding of the problem (of access to justice), 2) consider a multidisciplinary approach, 3) support and develop evidence-based policy by committing to empirical research, 4) study a wider variety of social realities and 5) look for quality. The reasonings of this paper are based on a scoping literature review.

In this article, we use the example of prison leave to discuss prisoners’ access to justice. Based on a functional comparative analysis between Denmark and Germany, we study the law in action. In Germany, prisoners have a legally prescribed right of access to the courts in cases of denial of prison leave. However, in Denmark prisoners face more barriers when trying to access the court. In our analysis, we have compared Danish court cases with letters from German prisoners referring to their struggles with prison administrations and courts. The materials from both countries show more similarities than one would expect, given the significant differences between the substantive law in the two jurisdictions. While acknowledging the need for further empirical investigation, we introduce a concept we term “genuine justice”, with the aim of paving the way for other and more radical remedies supplementing the economic, legal and social measures already in place.

This study asks if the level of corruption relates to perception of access to justice. Looking at the supply side of access to justice, a corrupt judicial system will imply that the less well-off cannot afford to gain their rights. However, does corruption widen a justice gap? Studies show that corruption relates to democracy, wealth and equality. The link between corruption and the judiciary is less studied. This study explores the general global relations statistically with use of data from 113 countries. Using multiple regression, it corroborates the classical debate on inequality and equal access to justice but critically contribute to this debate by finding that corruption has an independent and strong relation to access to justice. However, it also finds that income inequality continues to be of importance. This finding is not trivial but suggests that anti-corruption and equality policies may improve access to justice.

Advocacy is one of the central means for supporting access to justice. The social work profession has advocacy as one of its main courses of action. This discusses the components in actions that are considered as good practice for facilitating access to justice in its democratic aspects. More explicitly social workers advocacy for promoting the worth and dignity of human beings in society. Four different ideals in social work are presented, self-help, treatment, philanthropy and bureaucracy. Thereafter, cases presented as best practice from European social workers are used for pointing out the central components described for good advocacy work. These are communication, inclusion and flexibility. Taken together, the aspects all go back to having respect for those in need of advocacy. In advocating for access to justice, it is important that the advocates are actively aware of their own role in a way that their efforts facilitate access to justice.

Denmark is a pioneering country regarding digitalization. The Danish public administration is a clear frontrunner and has been submitted to significant changes. Contact between the administrative authorities and the citizens is predominantly digitalized and digital self-service solutions and automated decisions are increasingly used. Theoretically the point of departure is George Ritzer´s theory that societies worldwide are subject to a far-reaching process of McDonaldization, which leads to the implementation of the modes of organisation and production found in fast-food restaurants in other sectors in society. The theory of McDonaldization is applied to the digitalization of the public administration in Denmark. The article further explains the findings from a sample survey on specific digital solutions in Denmark and how the citizens perceive these solutions.

As empirical research into access to justice burgeons around the world, contemporary work offers opportunities for integration and synthesis, generating insights that can inform both policy priorities and practical decisions about program design and implementation. Access to justice is historically a problem-focused research field, but an important strand of contemporary access to justice research focuses on solutions, or a deeper understanding “what works.” This paper offers a three-part framework for thinking about how research about “what works” in one jurisdiction can inform understanding of what might work in others. We propose a common core of research questions; a framework for conceptualizing the objects of study (in the example here, programs); and a framework for conceptualizing the contexts in which those programs might operate.

Since access to justice scholarship has gradually become a more multifaceted, international and empirical endeavour, this special issue illustrates a broader scope of contemporary access to justice research from a multi-disciplinary and socio-legal perspective. The issue gathers contributions from European and US scholars, representing different disciplinary backgrounds, such as law, sociology of law, political science, philosophy, social work, and criminology, yet with a common interest in access to justice. This includes the study of various contexts (apart from the courts) and actors (apart from lawyers) who make unilateral legally based decisions that have direct consequences for individuals, or in other ways facilitates or hinders access to justice in a (broader) democratic sense. Through its contributions, this special issue identifies and discusses a variety of barriers and facilitators in areas where access to justice is deemed problematic and therefor highly important for policy and practice development.

Legal aid and the provision of legal assistance to poor and indigent citizens forms a core to the promotion, protection and enforcement of fundamental human rights especially for a vast majority of Nigerians who live below the poverty line and cannot afford the services of legal practitioners which constitutes a major impediment to access to justice. When individuals have access to legal aid, they are able to enforce and seek the protection of their basic rights in line with the principles of equality and the rule of law. In furtherance of these objectives, the Legal Aid Act of Nigeria 2011 was passed, which provided a mechanism for a scheme to provide legal assistance to those entitled to such services. The law sets out the operational framework for legal aid, the scope of legal aid, those entitled to legal assistance and specially recognizes the role of non-state actors such as NGO’s, Law Clinics and Paralegals in providing legal aid. This paper identifies and maps the role of law clinics as provided under the law in the areas of criminal defense, advice and assistance in civil matters and community legal services. The work will also highlight some of the challenges that hinder the effective provision of legal assistance under the scheme, which include insufficient personnel and funding for the scheme.

One of the three main pillars of the Aarhus Convention is access to justice for members of the public. Access to justice can not only be provided for in administrative proceedings but also via criminal proceedings in cases of environmental crime. Members of the public with an interest in environmental protection are especially environmental NGOs. In some European countries NGOs play an active role in criminal proceedings, however in many they are banished to the sidelines. This article describes the implications and requirements of Art. 9 (3) of the Aarhus Convention for access to justice via criminal proceedings, analyzes the existing ways for environmental NGOs to participate in Austrian criminal proceedings and presents ways in which criminal procedure law can be reformed to meet the requirements of the Aarhus Convention. The end goal is to make the prosecution of environmental crime as effective as possible.

Migrants who live in Switzerland without valid residence papers find themselves in a complex and contradictory legal position. Even though they are entitled to a great number of rights, they are rarely able to claim them in practice. This paper analyzes the challenges that migrants with irregular status face when enforcing their rights. Furthermore, a strategy that could potentially serve as a remedy to their lack- ing access to justice is explored; the approach of ur- ban citizenship and the introduction of city ID cards.

We start from the voices of women who go through situations of violence, their representations and access to justice, taking their particularities and difficulties in each period of life. We ask ourselves: How can we work better together from Legal Sociology to address these challenges interdisciplinary? How diverse must our justice institutions be to respond to the needs of women of different generations? How are the youngest girls given a voice in decisions about their future and in resolving their conflicts? The Administration of justice does or does not provide answers to women, they are adequate/inadequate according to the evolutionary moment and the conflicts they experience. To carry out this approach we will return to the concepts of governmentality, captivity and intersectionality, considering women as historical and cultural subjects.

Adalete erişim, dünya genelinde çağdaş yargı sistemlerinin en temel unsurlarından biridir. Yargının tarafsızlığı ve bağımsızlığı ile hukuk devleti arasında yapısal bir bağlantı vardır. Mahkemelere ve mahkeme dışı uyuşmazlık çözüm yollarına fizikî olarak erişim, yargılama usûllerini anlama veya avukatla temsilden yararlanma imkânı söz konusu olmazsa, adalet sisteminde reform yapma ve yargının etkinliğini arttırma çabaları yetersiz kalacaktır. Bu hukuk politikası belgesi, Türk adalet sisteminde adaletin etkinliğinin arttırılması ve adalete erişimin kolaylaştırılması için bazı öneriler içermektedir. Bu öneriler kapsamında adalete erişim ve önleyici adalet hakkında tedbirler, mevzuat değişikliği önerileri, yargının kurumsallaşması, paydaşlarla işbirliği, etkinliğin önündeki engeller, alternatif uyuşmazlık çözüm yollarına başvurulması ve sorunlara çözüm üretme çabaları ortaya konulmuştur. Örneğin komşuluk uyuşmazlıkları ve küçük uyuşmazlıkların çözümü için toplum sulh merkezlerinin kurulması ve yerel düzeyde yaygınlaştırılması önerilmiştir.

Estudios sobre acceso a la justicia utilizan categorías conceptuales como problemas justiciables, necesidades jurídicas y cursos de acción. Este estudio analiza los estándares actuales de estudios empíricos de acceso a la justicia y ofrece una perspectiva dinámica, centrada de la autonomía de las personas y comprehensiva de estos conceptos. Propone que los problemas justiciables deben entenderse de manera dinámica e introduce los conceptos de problemas coligados, clústeres de problemas, supraproblemas y problemas secundarios. También distingue entre los componentes de conocimiento, voluntad y recursos económicos en la configuración de necesidades jurídicas instrumentales, sistémicas y sustantivas. Finalmente, ofrece una definición dinámica de las trayectorias de acceso a la justicia en contraposición a la idea de etapas exclusivas e independientes. El entendimiento dinámico, centrado en la autonomía y comprehensivo del acceso a la justicia fortalecen el análisis del acceso a la justicia en acción. Studies on access to justice use conceptual categories such as judiciable problems, legal needs, and courses of action. This study analyzes current standards in empirical studies on Access to justice and offers a dynamic, centered in people’s autonomy and comprehensive perspective of these concepts. It proposes that judiciable problems should be understood in a dynamic way and introduces the concepts of linked problems, clusters of problems, superproblems and secondary problems. It also distinguishes between the components of knowledge, will and economic resources in the configuration of instrumental, systemic and substantive legal needs. Finally, it offers a dynamic definition of the trajectories of access to justice in contrast to the idea of exclusive and independent stages. The dynamic, autonomic and comprehensive understanding of access to justice strengthens the analysis of access to justice in action. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1220

This paper analyzes the challenges to eradicate poverty and extreme poverty in Latin America. Moreover, it seeks to understand the recommendations from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on this topic. Accordingly, this paper focuses on the United Nations and the Inter-American human rights systems to combat poverty (the legal instruments and monitoring bodies) and the goals states need to follow to better protect economic, social and cultural rights, and to provide an effective access to justice in the Americas.

The number of disputes initiated by organisations, public associations and citizens trying to fight for climate justice and carbon neutrality is growing every year in the world. In order to successfully fight, it is necessary to remove a number of obstacles arising in the consideration, adoption and monitoring of the implementation of decisions on climate disputes. The analyses made it possible to draw the necessary conclusions and recommendations aimed at improving the efficiency of resolving such cases. The purpose of this study is to form an idea of effective ways in the field of climate protection by analyzing procedural problems related to the consideration of climate protection cases in foreign countries and scientific sources. The analysis is based on cases that have been decided as well as cases before the courts. Procedural problems of climate protection cases over the last decade were revealed. Methods: empirical methods of comparison, description, interpretation; theoretical methods of formal and dialectical logic. Private-scientific methods were applied: legal-dogmatic and method of interpretation of legal norms. The obtained result showed that litigation and arbitration disputes aimed at climate protection have become an effective tool to ensure compliance or strengthening of climate commitments.

The present article focuses on the InterAmerican System for the Protection of Human Rights (Inter-American System) in the context of disability. It addresses several relevant issues regarding complaint mechanisms. The article is divided into three main parts. The first part explains the organs of the Inter-American System and corpus iuris centered on disability rights. The second part explores rights to nondiscrimination and non-segregation of persons with disabilities based on relevant reports and recommendations issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, as well as case-law of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The last part of this article includes some concluding remarks.

Since conclusion of the Paris Agreement and the high-profile Urgenda case, potential new avenues for strategic climate litigation have received considerable attention in many countries, including Australia. Australia already has a substantial climate jurisprudence, primarily involving administrative challenges under environmental laws. This paper aims to examine the prospects for a “next generation” of cases focused on holding governments and corporations to account for the climate change implications of their actions. We draw on analysis of existing legal precedent and emerging cases to explore four key aspects: drivers for next generation lawsuits, potential legal avenues, and likely enablers and barriers. The paper uses the Australian experience as a case study but draws also on litigation trends globally. We find that the most fruitful strategy for future climate change litigation is likely to be one that advances lower risk cases building from the base of existing litigation, while simultaneously attempting novel approaches. Desde los Acuerdos de París y el caso Urgenda, varios países han prestado mayor atención a los litigios estratégicos sobre el clima. Australia ya tiene una notable jurisprudencia sobre el clima, especialmente en cuanto a los desafíos que para la administración suponen las leyes ambientales. Este artículo analiza las posibilidades de una “nueva generación” de casos basados en pedir responsabilidades gubernamentales y empresariales. Partimos de antecedentes jurídicos y de casos emergentes para explorar cuatro cuestiones claves: los motores para demandas judiciales, posibles vías legales, y capacitadores y obstáculos probables. Se usa la experiencia de Australia como estudio de caso, pero también se traen a colación tendencias judiciales globales. Hallamos que la estrategia más provechosa es propulsar casos de menor riesgo desde la base de los litigios existentes, a la vez que ensayar nuevos abordajes. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1060

This paper explores the issue of how a feminist court could operate through the device of a model statute and rules for the Women’s Court of Canada. The Women’s Court of Canada is a feminist legal project bringing together academics, activists, and litigators to "rewrite" Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms equality jurisprudence. Over the course of more than a decade, the members of this virtual 'court' have reconsidered leading equality rights decisions, rendering alternative judgments with the aim of articulating fresh conceptions of substantive equality in judgment form. Here, the author takes a step away from the substance of equality rights law to focus on legal institutions and procedure. El presente artículo profundiza en la cuestión de cómo podría funcionar un tribunal feminista mediante unos estatutos tipo y unas normas para el Tribunal de Mujeres de Canadá. El Tribunal de Mujeres de Canadá es un proyecto jurídico feminista que reúne a académicas, activistas y abogadas, quienes "reescriben" la jurisprudencia sobre igualdad de la Carta Canadiense de los Derechos y las Libertades. Durante más de una década, los miembros de este "tribunal" virtual han cuestionado sentencias con el objetivo de articular concepciones nuevas de igualdad sustantiva en forma de sentencia. La autora de este artículo se distancia de lo sustantivo de las leyes sobre derecho a la igualdad y se centra en las instituciones jurídicas y el procedimiento. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=3244347

Serial litigants are a well-known phenomenon. This article deals with this phenomenon on two different levels using Israel as a test-case. First, we analyze the impact they have on the judicial system as a whole, and the institutional responses the judicial system uses in order to deal with serial litigants as well as the impact (both positive and negative) such serial litigants have on other litigants. Second, we analyze the personal motives of serial litigants and identify their common denominators, as well as what differentiates them. In this regard the article offers a unique approach by presenting the perspective of serial litigants and the human dimension behind their claims. We then show that serial litigants do not constitute a monolithic group, and suggest that courts have to take the differences between them into account. We further propose the formulation of systemic tools that take into account both the negative and the positive aspects of serial litigants in order to strike a proper balance between the optimal allocation of resources, and the right of access to justice.

This brief paper explores the correlation and potential relationship between the composition of the legal profession and trends in litigation, in Ontario, Canada. Specifically, we ask whether there is a positive correlation between the numbers of lawyers and paralegals licensed to practice in the province, and the amount of civil litigation initiated across the province. The paper then discusses possible reasons for the trends in the profession and in litigation, and considers traditional objections, such as the argument that an increase in the number of lawyers will lead to 'litigation explosion'. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research in this area.

The Romanian Constitutional Court has the competence to control the laws, both by means of an a priori control and also by those of an a posteriori control. The latter is exercised by means of a prejudicial question, raised during a trial, the action popularis being excluded. The free access to justice (article 21 of the Romanian Constitution), represents one of the fundamental rights upon which the Court is generally called to conclude. By several decisions, the Constitutional Court has reaffirmed its role of guardian of the fundamental law, giving the adequate interpretation of article 21, many times referring to the ECHR case law, regarding the notion of reasonable, the court costs, the trial length, the right to sue and to appeal the judicial decisions or to take a matter to an administrative jurisdiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Outre-Mers: Revue d'Histoire is the property of Societe Francaise d'Histoire d'Outre Mer and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2017 2(2), 519-542 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. The legal phenomenon of IEMEIs. - II.1. IEMEIs regulating conduct abroad on the basis of environmental regulatory requirements. - II.2. IEMEIs regulating trade: market access conditions and obligations on Third Country actors. - II.3. Compliance with IEMEIs: "contingent unilateralism", equivalence and flexibility. - III. Access to justice. - III.1. Avenues for access to justice for different kinds of third country actors. - III.2. Standing. - III.3. The Aarhus Convention and access to justice. - IV. Conclusion. | (Abstract) The EU conducts its external relations through different types of tools, including through unilateral domestic measures with extraterritorial implications that extend its regulatory power to processes occurring partly abroad. These are increasingly prevalent in the area of environmental protection, including climate change. Examples include the sustainability criteria for biofuels, the inclusion of aviation emissions in the EU emissions trading system, ship recycling, exports of electrical and electronic waste and imports of timber. Because these measures are unilateral in nature, developed within the EU legal order, but have important legal and policy effects beyond EU borders, they raise complex legitimacy questions and may give rise to an external accountability gap. The role of EU administrative law, which controls the exercise of EU public power, is important in "disciplining" the exercise of EU power beyond EU borders and filling this gap. The Article explores some of the novel regulatory techniques employed in these kinds of internal measures to conduct external action and how administrative law responds to their complexities. It focuses on access to justice in the EU legal order in exploring the extent of an external accountability gap. The constraints of accessing the EU judicial system may accentuate the external accountability gap if the EU cannot be held into account on the basis of its own rule of law by third country actors affected by its action.

Achieving environmental justice in South Africa is critically important, not only because of historical reasons rooted in the country’s apartheid past, but also to ensure that everyone in the country, especially marginalized and vulnerable sectors of society, are properly protected from disproportional environmental impacts. Another aim of environmental justice in South Africa is to ensure that everyone equally shares in the benefits of the country’s resources. In this article, we interrogate ways through which to achieve environmental justice in South Africa through the use of civil-based instruments (CBIs) of environmental governance. The central hypothesis is that CBIs are particularly well-suited to contribute to the achievement of environmental justice since they are essentially instruments which empower civil society to become central stakeholders in environmental governance by fostering active participation in the decisions that may impact on the environment and people’s health and well-being. Through these instruments all of society, particularly disenfranchised people suffering most from environmental injustice, are afforded a platform to pursue their environment-related interests that may be affected by the decisions taken by government and private actors such as polluting companies. For the purpose of the discussion we focus specifically on public participation, access to information and access to justice, all of which are generally accepted as CBIs, including in international law.

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Résumé: Un système d'information de surveillance en santé-environnement (SISSE) peut être soit un dispositif à visée d'étude pour fournir des données utiles à la priorisation d'actions de prévention, soit un dispositif d'alerte. Différentes démarches ont été développées au niveau international, avec des niveaux de maturité variables, pour fournir des systèmes d'information nécessitant une mise en cohérence de la production de données par rapport aux objectifs de surveillance et permettre ainsi leur opérationnalité dans un cadre de gestion. Cette synthèse propose d'explorer les systèmes intégrés de surveillance à travers la description d'expériences internationales. L'accès à l'information et la participation du public au processus décisionnel en matière d'environnement coïncident avec le début de la prise en compte du débat scientifique et démocratique sur la justice environnementale et sur l'articulation entre politiques sociales et politiques environnementales. Les premiers SISSE apparaissent dans ce contexte dans les années 2000 aux États-Unis et permettent l'accès et la capacité d'intégrer des données ou bases de données aux différents niveaux administratifs, de promouvoir l'interopérabilité des systèmes, d'améliorer la qualité des données produites et une meilleure intégration de la dimension environnementale dans l'ensemble des politiques. D'autres outils interactifs en ligne permettent aux utilisateurs une information facilitée pour explorer diverses dimensions de l'exposition au niveau local. Toutefois, les données spatiales utilisées à des fins de caractérisation des expositions environnementales n'ont pas toujours été initialement collationnées pour répondre à ces objectifs, ce qui entraîne des biais d'utilisation. Pour contourner partiellement ces problèmes, différentes techniques sont adoptées pour traiter spécifiquement les différentes bases de données environnementales, comportementales ou de population. Dans le contexte de l'émergence de la notion d'exposome, la territorialisation du concept à des fins de gestion nécessite le développement de nouvelles approches dynamiques, multidimensionnelles, longitudinales et la mise en place de systèmes d'information, obligeant l'adoption de méthodes transdisciplinaires pour l'analyse des données et la coordination des acteurs sur l'ensemble des niveaux administratifs. An environmental health tracking information system (currently known as an Environmental Public Health Tracking [EPHT]) is a study or surveillance tool to provide useful data for prioritizing prevention actions. Various approaches have been developed at the international level, with varying levels of maturity, to provide programs in which data production is consistent with the tracking objectives and ensure they are operational within a management framework. This synthesis proposes to explore integrated surveillance systems through the description of international experience. Access to information and justice in environmental matters as well as public participation in decision-making coincide with increased attention to the scientific and democratic debate on environmental justice and on joint social and environmental policies. The first EPHTs appeared in this context in the 2000s and now provide access to and integration of data or databases at different administrative levels, promote interoperability of systems, and improve the quality of the data produced and the integration of environmental aspects in all policies. Other interactive online tools provide users with easy navigation to explore various dimensions of exposure at the local level. However, the use of spatial data to characterize environmental exposures did not initially meet the objectives of the studies, which led to use biases. To partially overcome these problems, different techniques are introduced to specifically address the different environmental, behavioral, or population databases. With the emergence of the concept of the "exposome", the territorialization of the concept for management purposes requires the development of new dynamic, multidimensional, longitudinal approaches, information systems that use cross-disciplinary methods for data analysis, and stakeholder coordination at all administrative levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In recent years, “public interest law” (PIL) has become a frequent component in conversations about law and policy around the globe. While this worldwide manifestation of a professional and political script that thus far seemed to be typically so American suggests a remarkable process of diffusion, its mechanics and significance are yet to be examined more deeply and systematically. The available account contends that this process has been one of “convergence” and “adaptation”. Yet, there are good empirical and theoretical reasons to subject this account to further examination. Drawing from a comparative and international empirical research on the everyday lives of “public interest lawyers” in the United States and Latin America, this article stresses significant differences in the ways US and LA lawyers have structured “public interest law” – thus challenging the idea of convergence –, while also unveiling factors in the rich histories of professional and political development in the studied contexts, which initially account for such differentiation. These findings call for further research, but already speak to a variety of theories about institutional development in times of globalization, such as theories of institutional isomorphism and field constitution. En los últimos años, el “derecho de interés público” (DIP) se ha convertido en un componente frecuente en las conversaciones sobre derecho y política a lo largo y ancho del globo. Mientras que esta manifestación a nivel mundial de un discurso profesional y político que hasta ahora parecía ser típicamente americano sugiere un notable proceso de difusión, sus mecanismos y significado todavía se deben examinar más profunda y sistemáticamente. La teoría disponible sostiene que este proceso ha sido de “convergencia” y “adaptación”. Sin embargo, hay buenas razones empíricas y teóricas para someter esta afirmación a un examen más profundo. A partir de una investigación comparativa empírica e internacional del día a día de los “abogados de derecho público” desarrollada en Estados Unidos y América Latina, este artículo hace hincapié en las importantes diferencias que hay en la forma en la que los abogados de Estados Unidos y América Latina han estructurado el “derecho de interés público” –poniendo así en duda la idea de convergencia–, y además revela nuevos factores en las ricas historias del desarrollo profesional y político de los contextos analizados, que a priori dan cuenta de esa diferenciación. Estos descubrimientos piden nuevas investigaciones, pero ya hablan de una variedad de teorías sobre el desarrollo institucional en tiempos de globalización, como teorías de isomorfismo institucional y constitución de campo. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2688435

A critical reflection on the experience at Courts of female victims of gender violence is the aim of this paper. Provincial, national and international laws are the framework for the analysis. The raw material are their reports ( assesed from the perspective of the newest writings on the issue) which stress the differences between the official discourse of the Administration of Justice and the victims' "accounts". Three different questions have been asked to guide our research: Are gender violence and poverty , factors linked to the lack of an effective Access to Justice? Which are the new factors observed everywhere and those which are present only in Latin America?Are there any changes in the social stereotypes which clear and ease the womens' path towards the administration of justice? En este artículo reflexionamos críticamente sobre la situación de las mujeres en La Plata-Argentina que padecen violencia de género cuando acceden a la administración de justicia. Para ello tomamos como marco referencial la normativa provincial, nacional e internacional. Utilizamos como insumo los testimonios de las mujeres, analizados a la luz de la literatura actual, que polemiza sobre la compleja y a veces contradictoria relación entre el discurso "oficial" de la Administración de justicia y los "relatos" de las mujeres. Nos interrogamos sobre tres ejes de trabajo que han orientado nuestra producción: ¿Qué intersecciones visualizamos entre violencia de género y pobreza como factores que obstaculizan el acceso a la justicia?¿Qué factores nuevos aparecen en contextos globalizados, y cuales son específicos de América Latina?¿Se observan cambios en los estereotipos sociales que despejan el camino de las mujeres a la administración de justicia? DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2611592

Access to legal information enables people to identify the full range of legal options available to them. In some cases, access to legal information allows people to resolve legal problems outside the court system altogether. Unfortunately, access to legal information in Canada has been described as poor. At the Law Society of Saskatchewan Library, we have been exploring the role libraries can play in improving access to legal information. Over the past three years, we have participated in a multitude of legal information initiatives with justice, community, and library stakeholders. I am here to tell you about these initiatives and what we have learned about promoting access to legal information in a library setting. This article is adapted from presentations given at the 2017 Canadian Association of Law Libraries Conference and the 2017 Saskatchewan Library Association Conference. L’accès à l’information juridique permet au public d’identifier une gamme complète d’options juridiques qui leur sont disponibles. Dans certains cas, l’accès à l’information juridique permet au public de résoudre des problèmes légaux sans avoir recours aux tribunaux. Malheureusement, l’accès à l’information juridique au Canada est décrit comme mauvais. À la Law Society of Saskatchewan Library, nous avons examiné le rôle que peuvent prendre les bibliothèques pour améliorer l’accès à l’information juridique. Au cours des trois dernières années, nous avons participé à de nombreuses initiatives sur l’information juridique avec des intervenants des milieux de la justice et des bibliothèques ainsi que des intervenants communautaires. Je vais partager avec vous ces initiatives ainsi que ce que nous avons appris au sujet de la promotion de l’accès à l’information juridique en milieu bibliothécaire. Cet article est une adaptation de présentations données aux congrès de l’Association canadienne des bibliothèques de droit et de la Saskatchewan Library Association en 2017.

This paper considers criminal justice through the lens of vulnerability theory, drawing attention to unexplored or underexplored vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system of England and Wales. We address three layers of vulnerability. The first identifies those who have more traditionally, although not unproblematically, attracted the label ‘vulnerable’; suspects in the criminal process. The second examines the vulnerability of those who, as humans, can be appreciated as vulnerable, but, within their roles in the criminal process, are not typically considered vulnerable – custody officers and defence lawyers. The third, least considered, explores the vulnerability of institutions – the police service and criminal legal aid system. Institutional failure to provide resources, and thus bolster the resilience of suspects and practitioners, can serve to further exacerbate vulnerability. Using empirical data, we explore how vulnerability manifests within the crucial early stages of the criminal process. In doing so, we provide a more holistic and critical account of vulnerability within the criminal justice system. Este artículo aborda la justicia penal desde la óptica de la teoría de la vulnerabilidad, y llama la atención sobre las vulnerabilidades no exploradas o poco exploradas del sistema de justicia penal de Inglaterra y Gales. Nos ocupamos de tres capas de vulnerabilidad. La primera se identifica con aquéllos que tradicionalmente, aunque no sin polémica, han atraído la etiqueta de "vulnerables"; sospechosos en el procedimiento penal. La segunda examina la vulnerabilidad de aquéllos que, como humanos, se pueden percibir como vulnerables, pero, en sus roles dentro del procedimiento penal, normalmente no están considerados como vulnerables - oficiales encargados de la custodia y abogados defensores. La tercera, la menos tenida en cuenta, explora la vulnerabilidad de las instituciones - el cuerpo policial y el sistema jurídico de asistencia penal. La omisión o el incumplimiento institucional al proporcionar recursos, y por tanto al reforzar la resiliencia de sospechosos y profesionales, puede exacerbar la vulnerabilidad. Utilizando datos empíricos, analizamos la forma en que la vulnerabilidad se manifiesta en los primeros y cruciales momentos del proceso penal. De este modo, proporcionamos una explicación más holística y crítica de la vulnerabilidad en el sistema judicial penal. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=3056198

In this scientific article, problems of access to justice in rural areas in Ukraine are considered. It is proved that for the people living in rural areas it is necessary to consider access to justice as possibility of free application to justice system for protection of their rights that is without any obstacles or difficulties. However in need of application to a court the rural dwellers face a lot of problems, such as: territorial, economic and organizational. Territorial problems relate to territorial distance of judicial authorities from rural areas. Economic problems relate to high level of court expenses and low financial well-being of rural dwellers. Organizational problems relate to absence of the necessary infrastructure in rural areas facilitating access to court (lack of transport infrastructure, absence of high-speed Internet and possibility to use technologies of “electronic justice”). The conclusion is that for the solution of this problem it is possible to offer the following steps: general development of infrastructure in rural areas; formation of judicial system on the basis of uniform territorial distribution; reduction of court expenses for dwellers of rural areas proportionally to the level of their incomes; development of institution of lay justice operating in rural areas.

The article discusses the results of a series of questionnaires administered to candidates registered in a program known as the Programme de pratique du droit (PPD) in Canada, created by the group the Law Society of Upper Canada. It also examines the PPD, access to justice in the French language in Ontario, and admission to the Canadian bar.

The province of Ontario, Canada, has not had a new law school in almost 40 years. Barriers limiting access to the profession have increased during this time due to a combination of factors discussed in this paper. Diversity within the legal profession has not improved, leading to the perception of a profession dominated by “old white males” whose services are increasingly unaffordable. The paper argues that barriers should be removed and that access to the profession should be greatly increased. La provincia de Ontario, Canadá, no ha tenido una nueva facultad de derecho en casi 40 años. Las barreras que limitan el acceso a la profesión han aumentado durante este tiempo debido a una combinación de factores que se analizan en este artículo. La diversidad dentro de la abogacía no ha mejorado, lo que lleva a la percepción de una profesión dominada por "viejos hombres blancos", cuyos servicios son cada vez más prohibitivos. El artículo defiende que se deben eliminar las barreras y que se debe aumentar el acceso a la profesión.

This paper addresses head on the contention by a prominent legal practitioner in South Africa that there are too many lawyers in the country. It does not canvass the complex issues involved in determining the meaning of access to justice or the relationship between law and society in the context of legal services, and deals with access to justice in the narrow sense of the delivery of legal services in South Africa. The paper analyses the evidence presented to substantiate the contention that there are too many lawyers against the socio-economic environment in South Africa and the requirements of the Constitution. It recognizes that the country has only a minority of people who can afford lawyers and compares the ratio of lawyers to people in this category with the ratio in other developed countries. It also recognizes that large numbers of people who cannot afford lawyers may need them and that such people will have to rely largely on the state-funded national legal aid body, Legal Aid South Africa and other mechanisms. The paper discusses the different modes of delivery of legal aid services by Legal Aid South Africa, as well as those provided by the legal profession pro bono, public interest law firms and mechanisms that compliment or are alternatives to lawyers, in the light of the number of practicing lawyers in the country. An analysis is made to determine if there are enough lawyers to provide the necessary legal services required by the Constitution in criminal matters, and for civil matters in general for those who can and cannot afford lawyers. The paper concludes that there are not enough lawyers in the country at present to provide access to justice in the narrow sense, and suggests how this shortage can be overcome by using mechanisms that provide alternatives to lawyers. Este artículo se basa en la opinión de un prominente abogado de Sudáfrica, quien afirma que hay demasiados abogados en el país. No aborda las complejas cuestiones implicadas en determinar el significado del acceso a la justicia o la relación entre derecho y sociedad en el contexto de los servicios jurídicos, sino que se ocupa del acceso a la justicia en el sentido estricto de la prestación de servicios jurídicos en Sudáfrica. El artículo analiza las pruebas presentadas para defender que hay demasiados abogados para el nivel socio-económico de Sudáfrica, y los requerimientos de la Constitución. Se reconoce que el país tiene sólo una minoría de personas que pueden pagar abogados y compara la proporción entre abogados y personas en esta categoría con la proporción en otros países desarrollados. También reconoce que un gran número de personas que no pueden contratar un abogado pueden necesitarlo, y que esas personas tendrán que depender en gran medida de los servicios de asistencia jurídica nacional financiados por el estado, Legal Aid South Africa u organismos similares. El artículo analiza de qué manera presta servicios de asistencia jurídica Legal Aid South Africa, así como los prestados por los abogados pro bono, los bufetes de abogados de interés público y los mecanismos que complementan o son alternativos a los abogados, en base al número de abogados que hay en el país. Se realiza un análisis para determinar si hay suficientes abogados para proporcionar los servicios legales necesarios exigidos por la Constitución en cuestiones penales y civiles en general, tanto para los que pueden como los que no pueden pagar a un abogado. El artículo concluye que en la actualidad no hay suficientes abogados en el país para garantizar un acceso a la justicia en sentido estricto, y sugiere cómo se puede superar esa escasez mediante mecanismos que ofrezcan alternativas a los abogados.

This article tries to show the ideological meaning as well as the limits and the dangers of «alternative dispute resolution» (ADR) within the today positive law. Since at least thirty years, these at present very fashionable «alternative justices» make use of such vocabulary as pacification, peace and modernity. But the aim is sometimes to drift the justiciable away from his or her judge. This removal can be questioned on behalf of the basic right to a fair trial. On the other hand, this new way of conflict resolution can have pernicious effects, especially when victims are enjoined to gain his or her harasser's favour. There are telling examples about this evolution such as mediation in harassment's affairs or procedures of conciliation (in fact alert) in case of severe and imminent threat. At last, the aim of conflict resolution could be debatable. For example, conflict as such can be sustained by the law, as in case of competition law or the right to strike, and, in that case, «resolving» the situation very often implies the weaker's « submission ».

The new Civil Procedural Code brings substantial changes. Before analyzing its impacts, it is important to discuss the prospects of access to justice, and in particular, the changes in its concept, especially in the case of the Brazilian State a welfare state later. The purpose of this article is to discuss the traditional concepts and to present the innovations brought by Boaventura de Sousa Santos.It begins with the discussion about the crisis of the justice and proposals for judicial reform. Then, it is importante to articulate the proposals for reform in the welfare state, discussing the traditional conceptions of access to justice. Finally, it presents the prospect of Boaventura de Sousa Santos about access to rights and justice.