{"id":183,"date":"2019-09-04T04:11:51","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T04:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lawp04.epgpbooks.inflibnet.ac.in\/?post_type=chapter&p=183"},"modified":"2019-09-04T04:33:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-04T04:33:00","slug":"engaging-with-communities-for-access-to-justice","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in\/lawp04\/chapter\/engaging-with-communities-for-access-to-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Engaging with Communities for Access to Justice"},"content":{"raw":" \r\n
\"epgp<\/a>\r\n<\/span><\/div>\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n1. Introduction<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

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.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Community engagement in this module refers to both citizens\u2019 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 \u201cinformation dissemination\u201d, 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\u2019 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.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

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<\/em> 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.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n2. Learning Outcomes<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

\u2022 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\u2019 daily lives.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

\u2022 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.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

\u2022 Access to justice at the grassroots includes interaction with staff of civil society organizations, paralegals, and law students who can assist community members in\u00a0identifying legal issues and guiding people to the proper line department\/government office for making a claim or complaint.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

\u2022 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.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

\u2022 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.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

\u2022 In working with communities, legal workers must model ethical behavior.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

\u2022 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.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

\u2022 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.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

\u2022 Stakeholders in access to justice include community members, civil society organizations, legal professionals, those in the justice system, and society at large.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

\u2022 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, <\/span>lok adalats<\/em>, and the like).<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

3. What does \u201caccess to justice\u201d entail for rural communities in India?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

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 \u201cright to live within an environment of rights where such rights are effectively protected. Within this broad paradigm, the term \u2018access to justice\u2019 includes two major concerns - guaranteeing human rights and ensuring capacity development of state institutions and citizens to ensure the protection of those rights.\u201dii In further support of access to justice, the Constitution guarantees free legal aid \u201cto ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.\u201diii To implement the guarantee of legal aid to disadvantaged citizens, Legal Services Authorities were established at the national, state, district and block level.iv<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

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\u00a0<\/span>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.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

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 <\/span>Talking of<\/em> Justice<\/em>vi<\/em>, <\/em>\u201cWhen I speak to children about the Preamble to our Constitution, I explain justice as \u2018being fair\u2019. \u2026 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.\u201dvii<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

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, <\/span>lok adalats<\/em> 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.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

3.1.Delivery of government entitlements to meet basic needs<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

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 <\/span>Indira Awaas Yojana<\/em> (housing); <\/span>Swacch Bharat Ahbiyan<\/em> (toilets); the National Rural Drinking Water Programme; the Integrated Watershed Management Programme (watershed development); the <\/span>Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana<\/em> (road connectivity); the <\/span>Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana<\/em> (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.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

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\u00a0<\/span>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.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n\"\"\r\n

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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.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

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\u00a0accompanied 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.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

3.2.The large spectrum of other community legal needs<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

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 <\/span>panchayats<\/em> (village councils) and village committees on education and health. Some NGOs support formation of women\u2019s Self Help Groups (SHGs) and federations of SHGs. This capacity building breeds confidence that will lay the groundwork for legal empowerment, discussed below.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

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\u2019s rights partnered with Delhi Legal Services Authority to train women as \u201ccommunity justice workers\u201d who are paralegals x. The box below provides an example of a paralegal\u2019s interventions in an urban setting.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\"\"\r\n

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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.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

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.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Panchayat land recovered<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n\"\"\r\n

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In this consumer dispute, the court appointed counsel to pursue the case. Consider the farmer\u2019s 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.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

As discussed below, it is vital that villagers also learn to handle some disputes on their own.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

4. The importance of legal empowerment<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

The term \u201clegal empowerment\u201d 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:<\/p>\r\n \r\n

\u201cLegal 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\u2019 capacities to act on their own\u201d.xi<\/p>\r\n \r\n

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\u00a0representatives in exercising rights and seeking remedies for violations of rights is central to the concept of legal empowerment.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

The Ministry of Law and Justice in India has, since May 2009 and continuing to 2017, conducted a project on \u201cAccess to Justice for Marginalized People\u201d which has legal empowerment as part of its rationale. The 2012 report on the Project states that, \u201cThe 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.\u201dxiii<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n\"\"\r\n

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.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n5. Methods of engaging with rural communities to build legal empowerment<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

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:<\/p>\r\n\r\n