17 Engaging with Communities for Access to Justice

1. Introduction

Access to justice, robustly understood, entails living in an environment in which legal rights are protected. It includes the ability to obtain information relevant to entitlements and public services, to seek resolution of administrative delays and malfeasance, to negotiate private disputes, and to present civil disputes to a dispute resolution forum, where required. It includes the ability to report crimes, have those reports seriously investigated and presented for adjudication. Earlier modules of this course have explored these topics in detail.

Community engagement in this module refers to both citizens’ participation in their own localities and to outreach and interaction with marginalized communities by civil society and legal workers, including paralegals, law students and lawyers. Much more than “information dissemination”, community engagement entails listening, building trust, responding to questions and conversing with community members. It involves co-creating with community members approaches to discussions to facilitate learning by all involved, rather than an expert-learner model. In the process of community engagement, legal workers must be sensitive to community members’ past experience with justice issues and government interaction, including with police, line departments and courts. It will be important to understand any experiences with government officials and/or the justice system that conveyed unequal treatment, corruption or other illegality or unfairness, as that will have created distrust.

In the context of access to justice, the goal of community engagement is to strengthen the capacity of people to know their rights, to know how to secure information and documents relevant to their claims, and to develop confidence and communication skills to solve disputes through grievance redressal at the administrative level where possible. Where negotiation of a private dispute fails, a marginalized community member should have support from legal aid for handling the dispute in a local court, lok adalat or other local forum. Patterns of legal problems of marginalized communities should be raised to higher levels of government (district, state, central, including relevant Commissions) for administrative action and policy advocacy, and, in appropriate cases, be referred for public interest litigation.

2. Learning Outcomes

• Legal literacy content for marginalized communities should include government entitlements for basic necessities (including food, water, sanitation, health services, education, housing, employment and pensions) and other rights relevant to the citizens’ daily lives.

• Legal empowerment is designed to build capacities of members of marginalized communities to know their rights and seek redress of grievances. With such capacities, community members can resolve many entitlements and public services issues at the local or district government level.

• Access to justice at the grassroots includes interaction with staff of civil society organizations, paralegals, and law students who can assist community members in identifying legal issues and guiding people to the proper line department/government office for making a claim or complaint.

• Participatory training methods engage community members, leading to better legal literacy learning, and such interactions bring out valuable information to legal workers to better understand local issues and context.

• Collaboration with non-governmental organizations that have built a relationship of trust with the community in an area will facilitate interaction by Legal Services Authorities and law school clinics there.

• In working with communities, legal workers must model ethical behavior.

• Community media, including wall paintings, posters, radio, street plays and print materials, are effective methods for reaching rural villagers. Community radio, where available, provides a good platform for legal empowerment efforts.

• Legal literacy outreach should aim to achieve legal empowerment of community members and also include how to locate a lawyer, when required, through Legal Services Authorities, court appointment or pro bono services.

• Stakeholders in access to justice include community members, civil society organizations, legal professionals, those in the justice system, and society at large.

• Legal Services Authorities should track effectiveness of access to justice in their jurisdictions, considering, among other factors, increased citizen participation in asserting rights and entitlements, equitable outcomes, and timely response of decision makers (departmental officials, courts, lok adalats, and the like).

3. What does “access to justice” entail for rural communities in India?

The Constitution of India guarantees access to justice to every person in the country.i The Ministry of Law and Justice and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have described, in their Project Brief on Access to Justice for Marginalized People, access to justice as including the “right to live within an environment of rights where such rights are effectively protected. Within this broad paradigm, the term ‘access to justice’ includes two major concerns – guaranteeing human rights and ensuring capacity development of state institutions and citizens to ensure the protection of those rights.”ii In further support of access to justice, the Constitution guarantees free legal aid “to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.”iii To implement the guarantee of legal aid to disadvantaged citizens, Legal Services Authorities were established at the national, state, district and block level.iv

To grasp justice issues relevant for members of marginalized rural communities, one must understand the specific local contexts in which they are living. In rural India, many villagers face the stark injustice of lack of basic necessities such as safe drinking water, adequate nutrition, housing with proper sanitation, education in schools with proper facilities and teaching staff, and preventive health care.v Marginalized people have legal rights to such necessities, and they are entitled to legal aid to secure the justice of conditions for leading a dignified life. When citizens know their rights and entitlements, they can express their needs and priorities on individual matters and village development issues that lead towards justice.

For marginalized communities to equally access justice as well as other rights, societal attitudes must change. Bias against the marginalized, including minorities, women, economically disadvantaged people, disabled, elderly and others, must end. As author and retired Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh Leila Seth has observed in her book Talking of Justicevi, “When I speak to children about the Preamble to our Constitution, I explain justice as ‘being fair’. … The laws, judgments and decisions need to be implemented. This can only happen when society changes and accepts new ideas; and for this we need awareness and advocacy, assertion and adoption. A change in law can be brought about by a forward-thinking government; or by popular demand; or through social action litigation. The change in mindset, though, is a slower and more difficult process; and for this to take place education and openness are essential.”vii

Many people have a stake in access to justice for marginalized communities, and affect the justice environment. Besides community members themselves, stakeholders include civil society organizations that work on rights or development issues, government officials, police, panchayat members, ministries, lok adalats and Legal Services Authorities under the courts, commissions, law schools, and influencers such as teachers, doctors and businesspersons. Society at large is a stakeholder in terms of greater stability that can come from meeting the basic needs of marginalized people.

3.1.Delivery of government entitlements to meet basic needs

Proper functioning of government entitlement programs is critically important to the well-being of people in rural communities. National and state laws provide for rural development programs to meet basic needs of the people. National laws include, among others, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) (employment); the Indira Awaas Yojana (housing); Swacch Bharat Ahbiyan (toilets); the National Rural Drinking Water Programme; the Integrated Watershed Management Programme (watershed development); the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (road connectivity); the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (electrification), and the National Social Assistance Programme, the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme and the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (social security). These laws are implemented through line departments at the state and district level.

Citizens have the right to know about the availability of government programs, how to apply for them and what to do if their applications are delayed or wrongly denied. Government offices, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and legal workers have a duty to raise awareness of citizens about their rights and entitlements and on how to assert their grievances. viii Paralegals and NGO staff working at the grassroots build capacities of members of marginalized communities to seek redress of grievances. They can assist a semi-literate citizen requiring assistance in writing her statement to the concerned authorities. Armed with such knowledge and communication skills or support, people can resolve many entitlements and public services issues at the level of local or district government themselves. If an individual cannot resolve such issues by themselves, legal aid can be sought.

In the box below is a case study describing how a villager secured relief for her whole community in the implementation of a government rural employment program. She had participated in training conducted by an NGO about good governance. There she learned the requirements of a government scheme guaranteeing rural employment and the authorities who are responsible for its implementation. She had developed the confidence to speak to the proper authorities and present the information in a clear and effective manner.

As this case study illustrates, some problems of rural villagers can be resolved through administrative departmental action. To access entitlements and services from government offices, people need to know their rights, identify the relief they seek, and communicate their claim to the responsible government official with required supporting evidence. In the event of inaction, the citizen needs to know how to appeal to a higher authority.

While the villagers received the immediate relief they sought in this case study, the issue of whether justice was achieved remains questionable. Using machines in MGNREGA is illegal and if it can be proven that a Sarpanch authorized use of machines (which often is accompanied by addition of fictitious participants to the MGNREGA rolls to claim and siphon wages), the Additional Deputy Commissioner should take proper action against the sarpanch under the guidelines of MGNREGA. The penalties could be jail and removal from the post of Sarpanch.

3.2.The large spectrum of other community legal needs

In addition to proper delivery of government entitlements mentioned above, rural communities require the full complement of protections afforded by law, including well-functioning schools, health services and human rights enforcement. That is, the context in which marginalized people live has much injustice; there are major gaps between the law on the books and lived reality.ix Legal services authorities should conduct research on issues in their areas and talk with community members to identify and prioritize local issues with legal dimensions that require awareness, desired remedies, and strategies for achieving them.

NGOs and law school clinics with good working relationships with communities may be able to assist in facilitating conversation and providing history and perspectives on the human rights violations and other problems in the areas in which they work. NGOs serve as a bridge for communities to information about government programs and initiatives that other communities are taking. They help communities plan for improvement. In India, NGOs often build capacities of local governmental institutions such as panchayats (village councils) and village committees on education and health. Some NGOs support formation of women’s Self Help Groups (SHGs) and federations of SHGs. This capacity building breeds confidence that will lay the groundwork for legal empowerment, discussed below.

Some important but sensitive topics, such as gender discrimination and domestic violence, may most effectively be raised in women-only groups in which trust has been built. Reaching women on sensitive family issues such as domestic violence, incest and other abuse requires special efforts. An NGO working on women’s rights partnered with Delhi Legal Services Authority to train women as “community justice workers” who are paralegals x. The box below provides an example of a paralegal’s interventions in an urban setting.

The support of the women of the community was critical to the success of this intervention. The case study raises the issue of the importance of sensitization of police about issues of domestic violence to enforce the criminal law.

The following case studies illustrate legal issues and power dynamics that rural people face. Both of these court cases, filed by farmers, were resolved by court order. The cases highlight the point that a court order only brings relief when it is enforced.

Panchayat land recovered

For 40 years, 22 acres of land belonging to a Panchayat in Haryana was illegally occupied by a politically influential person from the village. In 2008-09, a farmer, who was an aware and active rural citizen in general and had training from a local NGO on good governance, filed a case at the Sub-divisional Magistrate’s court against this illegal occupation of land. The court proceedings went on for a year and finally the court issued a decision and order to vacate the land and return it to the Panchayat. But the court order was not followed.

In 2010 with the help of an NGO, the farmer appealed to the District Court, which also passed judgment in his favor, but with no effect as the illegal occupant again ignored the court’s order. In 2011, the farmer appealed to the High Court in Chandigarh; after due proceedings the High Court issued a letter to the District Court asking it to enforce the order to vacate the land. The land was returned to the Panchayat in 2013.

In this panchayat land case, the farmer hired counsel for the appeal. If the farmer had not been able to hire counsel, what options the villagers could have pursued for help to enforce the District Court order to return the land to the Panchayat? This is the type of question that law students could research to present additional options to a community.

In this consumer dispute, the court appointed counsel to pursue the case. Consider the farmer’s options if the court had not appointed counsel. Litigation of cases in court and enforcement of court orders usually require counsel. Legal literacy includes knowing how to obtain counsel, if a litigant cannot afford private counsel, through court appointment of counsel, through Legal Services Authorities, or pro bono counsel arranged through law school clinics.

As discussed below, it is vital that villagers also learn to handle some disputes on their own.

4. The importance of legal empowerment

The term “legal empowerment” of citizens conveys not only awareness of legal rights but also the capacity to assert claims and secure outcomes that can result from use of such knowledge of rights. Law and Development specialist Stephen Golub, who coined the term, explains it as follows:

“Legal empowerment is both a process and a goal. As a matter of process, legal empowerment includes legal reforms and services that improve the bargaining positions of: farmers seeking secure land tenure; indigent criminal defendants pursuing due process; women battling domestic violence; and communities pressing for the delivery of medical, educational or other governmental services to which they are entitled. As a goal, it strengthens such populations in terms of their income, assets, health, physical security and/or, most generally, freedom. The essentially bottom-up nature of legal empowerment means that it aims to build such populations’ capacities to act on their own”.xi

The legal empowerment movement, with impetus from the United Nationsxii, focuses on meeting the legal needs of the marginalized, rather than solely on access to justice institutions (courts, mediation centers) and lawyers. Active participation by individuals and community representatives in exercising rights and seeking remedies for violations of rights is central to the concept of legal empowerment.

The Ministry of Law and Justice in India has, since May 2009 and continuing to 2017, conducted a project on “Access to Justice for Marginalized People” which has legal empowerment as part of its rationale. The 2012 report on the Project states that, “The Project seeks, on the one hand, to improve the institutional capacities of key justice service providers to enable them to effectively serve the poor and disadvantaged. On the other hand, it aims to directly empower the poor and disadvantaged men and women to seek and demand justice services.”xiii

An example of legal empowerment is the story of women living Below Poverty Line who, with awareness of their rights and guidance about the officials who could provide relief, prevailed against more powerful local actors to secure plots of land allotted to their families. It appears in the box below.

The above case study reports the valiant struggle of women to secure the land their families were due. Their eight-month campaign to regain the land is an example of legal empowerment. Not only is this an inspiring illustration of marginalized women standing up for their rights, but also the resolution was likely much speedier than it would have been had it gone through the courts.

5. Methods of engaging with rural communities to build legal empowerment

There are many efforts underway to spread access to justice among marginalized communities in India, but much more needs to be done to bridge the gap between rural communities and the Constitutional promise of access to justice. The Access to Justice Project undertaken by the Ministry of Law and Justice and UNDP has supported projects to boost legal literacy materials production in local languages, creative outreach and engagement of communities, including, among othersxiv:

• “Outreach awareness by organising free legal aid camps
• Organising orientation workshop for common sharing with CSOs [Civil Society Organizations/NGOs] and CBOs [Community-based Organizations]
• Working with Self Help Groups for enhancing their capacities in accessing justice
• Development of community radio programmes and broadcasting for legal awareness
• Creating curriculum and contents for adult legal education”xv

Those active in many CSOs and law school clinical programs routinely engage with community members at the grassroots. CSOs working at the grassroots encourage community participation so that people are better able to address their own development needs. CSOs often identify resources to fund/bring about change – government and donor programs, collaborations to generate income, and community contribution to development projects. CSOs also teach citizens skills for monitoring of government programs. Legal Services Authorities partner with credible organizations in the community to spread awareness of legal aid services and to help identify resources for addressing community needs.

In addition to legal aid-related outreach, some CSOs and law school clinics engage with communities on governance (including access to entitlements) and issues such as Right to Education and Right to Information. xvi Special efforts are needed for outreach to rural women, who despite the fundamental right of equality, often lack equal access to public spaces, movement and free expression.xviiThe next section reports some innovative initiatives in building awareness of legal rights and building capacities in communities to identify legal disputes and resolve them through negotiation where possible.

5.1.Building awareness of legal rights and remedies

To be able to claim legal rights, people must be aware of their rights and the systems for claiming them. However, many people are unaware of their rights. “Legal literacy” is the basic awareness of laws that affect and protect a person’s daily life and of ways of enforcing legal rights through government officials, police and dispute resolution forums.

To catch people’s attention, legal literacy efforts should be relevant, interesting and pitched in plain, local language that many can understand. While some basic legal content of law is important, learners enjoy applying the law to the types of problems of which they are aware. Learners relate to local issues so it is highly motivating for them to find them in case studies and exercises.

Engaging with communities through radio, mobile phone, legal literacy camps and trainings should be a rich, two-way process. By listening to community members’ concerns and questions, the provider of legal literacy learns about the community context, can gauge the extent to which she or he is connecting with the learner, and can make adjustments accordingly.

a. Community radio

Community engagement is a high priority of community radio stations, which are FM stations licensed to serve a local area. Community radio has three defining aspects: “non-profit making, community ownership and control, and community participation”.xviii Members of the local community are trained and operate the stations to feature local themes and concerns in local dialect. While all of the radio stations broadcast public information campaigns, some specifically feature legal themes.xix Radio staff design the episodes of thematic series to educate in an entertaining way. Community radio reporters often go out into the field to record some stories, allowing people to speak from familiar settings, rather than having to come to a recording studio.

Community radio is a good tool for spreading awareness of legal aid and local legal issues in the listener community. A radio campaign conducted in advance of a legal literacy camp can not only turn out attendance for the camp but also set appropriate expectations and encourage people to come prepared with papers related to their concerns. Given the domestic isolation that some rural women face, community radio may provide a means of reaching them.

Community radio broadcasts and call-in programs can spread legal awareness about entitlement programs such as Public Distribution System, Mid-day Meal in schools and aanganwadi (daycare) services. This can help the listeners monitor the delivery of such programs in their own villages.

Through listener call-in programs, community radio can provide a forum for villagers to interact with government officials and learn about success stories and problems of others. Legal Services Authorities should use community radio, where available, as well as mainstream radio, to inform members of marginalized communities about the availability of legal aid, basic information on entitlements and rights, and how to secure legal help.

Participatory content creation is a hallmark of community radio, which is designed to give voice to communities neglected by mainstream media. One definition of “participatory content creation” is “content created after extensive discussions, conversation and decision-making with the target community; and where community members take on content creation responsibilities according to their capacities and interest.” xx In creating content for community radio, the radio team seeks topics that are locally relevant, plans varied formats (interviews, panel discussions, phone-ins, songs, thematic campaigns and storytelling), and serializes episodes to explore various aspects of a topic and sustain interest.xxi For example, you may listen to illustrative community radio programs on this link: http://www.smsfoundation.org/#. Community input by call-ins after select broadcasts gives the radio team immediate feedback for future program refinement.

There is a lot to learn from the communications insights that community radio has shared. Community radio staff have observed, “As development practitioners, we sometimes perceive development as what we think but that is very different from what communities actually want. Community learning programs gives the opportunity to be in the community, understand their aspirations and development needs, have their buy-in and involve them in all stages—planning, the negative behavior in the community and its consequences and the positive behavior that ought to be and its results. In this whole process, community is central. The beauty of a community learning program lies in its context—local nature, its approach— collaborative and participatory, its presentation—story-based, engaging, evidence-based and its delivery—blended and multichannel.”xxii Likewise, those planning legal literacy and legal empowerment campaigns can benefit from this wisdom about engaging with the community to formulate effective events and programs.

b. Other community media

Community media refers to a range of communications methods on a local level. Traditional community media in villages include wall paintings and posters placed in public locations to notify villagers of provisions of various government programs such as health services, Mid-day Meal, School Management Committee membership, and the like.

Wall painting about the Mid Day Meal program, Mewat, Haryana, 2014

Such techniques can be used to announce legal literacy and legal aid camps, and legal services authority clinic hours, among other events.

Recognizing that many marginalised people are not able to read well or read at all, it is important to use pictorial materials to aid in communication and retention of ideas. Visual aids can include posters, flip books, and pamphlets written simply in local language with illustrations. The poster below depicts the transformation of a disorganised aanganwadi (government day care center) to a properly functioning one that complies with the requirements of the Integrated Child Development Services Program:

Training manuals for trainers working in rural villages should include lesson plans with content, methods, and illustrations. Here is a link to an example of a Hindi training manual on panchayats: http://www.smsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/New-Panchayat-se-ek-mulakat-2013.pdf.

Community newsletters published in local language can be read by the literate to their family members and neighbors. Examples of such development newsletters are available on this link: http://www.smsfoundation.org/irrad-publications/. Since it if often hard to find the names, designation and contact details of local officials,NGOs sometimes publish leaflets containing that information for villagers with whom they work.

Widespread use of mobile phones provides another means of reaching rural residents. Some NGOs have piloted projects in which information alerts are sent by voice or text SMS to mobile phones. Citizen monitoring of public service delivery, such as teacher attendance and provision of government entitlements, can be reported by mobile phones. Mobile phones make it possible to place calls from locations away from landlines, either in or outside homes or at community sites; this feature may increase use of helplines and thoroughness and accuracy in reported information.

Village-based centers or “kiosks” have been established in some villages by NGOs, local governments, and entrepreneurs. These kiosks may be located in existing institutions such as health centers, schools and community centers. Some kiosks in India are also being utilized to enhance literacy and awareness and provide access to public documents. Researchers have found that community radio and village knowledge centres, both of which have locally relevant content and reinforce community-based discussions, have the greatest potential to reach women.xxiii The findings of such studies should be kept in mind in planning legal literacy efforts.

c. Legal literacy trainings and camps

The purpose of legal literacy training is to equip citizens with the knowledge and capacity to identify legal problems and, where possible, raise problems and resolve them through local officials, and to know how to seek legal aid if more help is required. Legal literacy camps are typically one-day events convened periodically in central locations throughout a district.

Legal literacy camps provide citizens with basic information about everyday legal issues. Camps attract people for group presentations, for example by a local lawyer, and for individual questions. In rural India, frequent problems include lack of regular access to water, failure to receive a rural employment job card, failure to receive refunds under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (as of October 2014, Swacch Bharat Abhiyan) program after having constructed toilets, redress for a canceled ration card and pension applications.

Before holding a legal literacy camp, it is critically important to plan for follow-up on the individual matters that will arise during the camp. Camp organizers channel the public to the right administrative department, where appropriate, and may help a citizen write down a complaint for the citizen to submit herself/himself. If a lawyer is required, they refer the individual to the Legal Services Authority. District or block level officials may attend the camp to respond to inquiries about their departmental focus. Sarpanchs sometimes attend to verify pension applications, as is required before application submission.

Legal literacy training programs are sustained, informal educational programs typically over a period of months. Trainers should prepare lesson plans with a specific theme, such as Right to Education or the Public Distribution System, and methods for each session. In teaching marginalized communities about government entitlements and other rights, it is essential for trainers to use participatory methods. Participatory training methods, in which there are discussions, exercises, role plays and other interactions, allow the learner to practice talking about what she or he is learning. Likewise, the trainer learns from the trainees about their understanding and details about issues that arise in the local context.

Mass legal literacy efforts are aptly described in this passage:

“Mass legal literacy campaigns and legal workshops are usually organised by various volunteer groups and registered organizations. Apart from offering classes and engaging in discussions and answering questions, these campaigns and workshops prepare and use many other educational tools to connect with the community. Examples include legal films with numerous songs, action, and high drama in the story line, and audio cassettes based on the films. Law students play a very important role in these initiatives. They organize public events by involving lawyers, judges, police officers and other relevant people to make the initiatives more effective. They also participate directly in the classes and other information sessions by imparting knowledge about the law.”xxiv

5.2. Ethics in engaging with communities for access to justice

In addition to lawyers, who are held to Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquettexxv, legal workers and NGO staff have an ethical duty to serve with diligence and without bias the members of the communities in which they work. One’s relationship and reputation with a community is critically important to the level of trust and confidence that the community will develop, and an individual’s unethical behavior may spill over to discredit the institution with which he or she works. It is important to discuss ethical norms with one’s employer or sponsoring organization to understand the expectations.

The NALSA Scheme for Paralegal Volunteers (Revised) sets ethical limits for paralegal volunteers by stating reasons for disqualification and removal. xxvi Apart from personal problems (insolvency, being accused of a criminal offence, physical or mental incapacity), the paralegal will be removed if he/she:

• “failed to evince interest in the Scheme
• has so abused his/her position or misconducted (sic) in any manner so as to render his/her continuance prejudicial to the public interest
• is an active political enthusiast of a political party.”xxvii

While tersely stated, these ethical principles cover a lot of ground. “Evincing interest in the Scheme” is a requirement that might be characterized as honest commitment to legal aid, access to justice, and respect for the human rights and equality of every individual before the law. “Abuse of position” certainly includes action taken for personal gain, other conflict of interest, improper sexual behavior or misuse of information provided in confidence. Being a “political enthusiast of a political party” would give an appearance of impropriety or favoritism at the least. NALSA orientation materials for paralegals under preparation will elaborate in more detail on ethical norms.

5.3.Documentation of engagement with marginalized communities about access to justice

Records matter! Documentation of important access to justice activities and events in a community will prove valuable in the future to show how, where and when change and progress have emerged, and what has lagged behind. Success stories inspire others. Case studies of failed efforts provide learning insights.

Teaching community members how to document events and insights, through writing for local language newsletters or recording stories for community radio, is an important part of legal empowerment training. Besides case studies to share learnings in the community, there can, of course, be deeper levels of documentation. Participatory action research involves collaborative study in communities on agreed topics of importance. xxviii In this research method, community members and researchers collect data, reflect on the data and overall situation, and analyze the findings with the goal of recommending social action.

Documentation is important to equip legal workers with tools to facilitate research and legal services provisions for marginalised people. Law students, paralegal volunteers and lawyers engaging with communities can build poverty law research materials. These can include records of case facts, research, analysis, strategies, writings (letters as well as formal submissions) and outcomes. While preserving confidentiality, legal workers can extract useful writing samples (e.g., interview questions, Right to Information responses, case strategy memos, charges framed, and legal memoranda) from files and share case materials that are in the public record. Case studies are important tools for learning the context of providing access to justice to marginalized people, whose daily circumstances often differ greatly from that of the lawyers, government officials, and judges who hear their problems and disputes.

In addition, Legal Services Authorities maintain documentation to track effectiveness of access to justice in their jurisdictions, considering, among other factors, increased citizen participation in asserting rights and entitlements, equitable outcomes, and timely response of decision makers (departmental officials, courts, lok adalats, and the like). Internationally, several civil justice organizations have devised methods for measuring a legal system’s effectiveness at providing access to justice. xxix

The truth is, engaged communities have a lot to say, opinions to share, aspirations to reach for, and often using an inspiring turn of phrase. So listen closely, observe carefully and engage community members to reach their potential. In turn, be mindful of what legal literacy and poverty law resources you can contribute to improve access to justice.

5.4 Conclusion: The importance of engaging with marginalized people on access to justice

People living in poverty on the margins of Indian society, which includes the rural majority, deserve equal protection of the laws. Access to justice is a key tool for protection against their vulnerabilities: to meet basic needs and to secure protection from criminal acts such as sexual and economic exploitation, corrupt practices and other violence.xxx In view of the vast size of the marginalized population in India, it is urgent and in the interest of society at large that legal professionals collaborate with civil society organisations, legal services authorities, government and others to accelerate community outreach and engagement to provide access to justice.

Law students who engage with communities on access to justice should be clear about their role and supervision of their work to ensure that they responsibly serve the community in terms of competently providing accurate information and following up as committed. Students often have limited time availability and therefore should choose projects that they can complete. Projects with a finite time commitment, such as legal literacy camps and participatory action research with communities, are suitable. Community engagement through clinical legal education is discussed in the next module of this course.

References:-

1. Good Rural Governance: Empowering Local Actions <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYePt4Ge6-c>

2. Namati: Innovations in Legal Empowerment, <http://www.namati.org>

3.DigitalEmpowermentFoundation,UseOfMobilePhonesForSocial&BehaviourChange<http://defindia.org/use-of-mobile-phones-for-social-behaviour-change/>

4. Legal Literacy Programmes in Haryana at <http://hslsa.nic.in/LL.htm>

5. Haryana State Legal Services Authority publications at <http://hslsa.nic.in/PublicationNew.htm>

6. Pocket Ready Reckoner for Grievance Redressal<http://www.smsfoundation.org/pdf/IRRAD-Pocket%20Book_22-10-2013.pdf>

7. Ethical Issues in Community Interventions<http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/analyze/choose-and-adapt-community-interventions/ethical-issues/main>

8. Social Action Litigation, in Leila Seth, Talking of Justice: People’s Rights in Modern India 37-58 (Adelph Book Company 2014)