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to achieve access to justice <strong>for</strong> the poor througha <strong>for</strong>mal justice system, but the ideals of the ruleof law are an indispensable part of the vision ofthe legal empowerment agenda. Legal Empowermentof the Poor requires a society governed bythe rule of law. While the ‘rule of law’ has differentmeanings in different contexts, US Justice AnthonyKennedy (a <strong>Commission</strong>er of the CLEP) hasdefined the rule of law as requiring fidelity to principlesregarding law being superior and binding,non-discriminating, respectful of people, givingpeople voice and their human rights, and effective(see Textbox 1 <strong>for</strong> his and other definitions).Rather than attempting a comprehensive surveyor a tailor-made theoretical framework, this chapterfocuses on varying aspects of the access tojustice issue. Section 2 addresses a widespreadand so far underappreciated problem: many poorpeople lack any sort of legal identity or <strong>for</strong>mallegal recognition, and as a result they are completelyexcluded from the <strong>for</strong>mal protections ofthe state legal system and as beneficiaries ofpublic goods and services. Section 3 turns to thebasic challenge <strong>for</strong> our working group: How canthe justness and fairness of what is delivered beimproved? How can the costs be reduced? Fourstrategies to improve access to justice are discussed.We start at the client end of the supplychain with facilitating self-help and education.<strong>The</strong>n we move on to the provision of legal services,the development of procedures that are bettersuited to legal needs and resources of the poor,and the potential of in<strong>for</strong>mal justice.Box 1 Rule of <strong>Law</strong> and Justice<strong>The</strong> rule of law (….) refers to a principle of governancein which all persons, institutions and entities,public and private, including the state itself, areaccountable to laws that are publicly promulgated,equally en<strong>for</strong>ced and independently adjudicated, andwhich are consistent with international human rightsnorms and standards. It requires, as well, measures toensure adherence to the principles of supremacy of law,equality be<strong>for</strong>e the law, accountability to the law, fairnessin the application of the law, separation of powers,participation in decision-making, legal certainty,avoidance of arbitrariness, and procedural and legaltransparency.(…)“justice” is an ideal of accountability and fairnessin the protection and vindication of rights and theprevention and punishment of wrongs. Justice impliesregard <strong>for</strong> the rights of the accused, <strong>for</strong> the interests ofvictims and <strong>for</strong> the well-being of society at large. It isa concept rooted in all national cultures and traditionsand, while its administration usually implies <strong>for</strong>maljudicial mechanisms, traditional dispute resolutionmechanisms are equally relevant. <strong>The</strong> internationalcommunity has worked to articulate collectively thesubstantive and procedural requirements <strong>for</strong> the administrationof justice <strong>for</strong> more than half a century(Rule of <strong>Law</strong> and Transitional Justice in Conflict andPost-Conflict Societies Report of the Secretary-General;S/2004/616 of 23 August 2004).<strong>The</strong> <strong>Law</strong> is superior to, and thus binds, the governmentand all its officials.<strong>The</strong> <strong>Law</strong> affirms and protects the equality of all persons.By way of example only, the law may not dis-criminateagainst persons by reason of race, color, religion,or gender.<strong>The</strong> law must respect the dignity and preserve thehuman rights of all persons.<strong>The</strong> <strong>Law</strong> must establish and respect the constitutionalstructures necessary to secure a free and decent societyand to give all citizens a meaningful voice in <strong>for</strong>mulatingand enacting the rules that govern them.<strong>The</strong> <strong>Law</strong> must devise and maintain systems to adviseall persons of their rights and just expectations, andto empower them to seek redress <strong>for</strong> grievances andfulfilment of just expectations without fear of penalty orretaliation. (Kennedy 2007).3
<strong>The</strong>oretical perspectives that in<strong>for</strong>m this analysisare reducing transaction costs, as well as remedyingmarket failure like imperfect in<strong>for</strong>mation.Section 4 addresses the related but distinct issueof access to justice in relation to the bureaucracyof public administration. It considers how thepoor can get access to the complaint structuresof the state and the public administration. Conclusionsare drawn in a final fifth section.2. An Access to JusticeCornerstone: Legal Identity 1<strong>The</strong> Nature of the ProblemOne important basis of legal empowerment is ‘legalidentity’: the <strong>for</strong>mal, legal recognition by thestate that a person exists. In developed countries,citizens take this <strong>for</strong> granted. Whether through abirth certificate, national ID card, or other means,they are empowered to own property, legally work,contract to buy and sell goods, receive governmentbenefits, vote, initiate a complaint throughthe channels of public administration, bring suitin a court of law, or avail themselves of other legalprotections.But the situation in many developing countriesis much different. Weaknesses in the managementof birth registries, costly and time-consumingprocedures needed to register, and otherobstacles can make securing a legal identity achallenge. And a person without legal identityis denied a whole range of benefits essential <strong>for</strong>overcoming poverty. She may be unable to attendschool, obtain medical services, vote inelections, get a driver’s license, or open a bankaccount. Moreover, those who lack a <strong>for</strong>mal legalidentity are often unable to take advantage ofanti-poverty programmes specifically designed <strong>for</strong>them. Those who lack a <strong>for</strong>mal identity may alsobe especially vulnerable to exploitative practices,including child labour and human trafficking.<strong>The</strong> importance of providing all people with <strong>for</strong>mallegal recognition has long been recognised.Indeed, the Universal Declaration of HumanRights announced over 50 years ago that, “<strong>Everyone</strong>has the right to recognition everywhere asa person be<strong>for</strong>e the law” (Art. 6). <strong>The</strong> UniversalDeclaration also affirmed the right of all people to‘nationality,’ meaning the right to be considered a4
Page 5 and 6: In reply to its expression of sorro
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Page 16 and 17: Case 10 Spain: Flexibility at the M
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Page 23: 1. IntroductionThe
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impact of a proposed action on some
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5. Conclusions andRecommendationsIn
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Chapter 1 Endnotes1 Excellent recen
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Lopez-de-Silanes, F. 2002.
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ChapterTWOEmpowering thePoor Throug
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the West, but that has made entire
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and insurance — to facilitate tra
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Table 1 Mapping the dynamics of leg
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creasing finance for</stron
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I. IntroductionAs these lines are b
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contributed to its substance. But a
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sis to protect transactions or to p
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in their countries is added reason
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is concentrated in the hands of the
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property, contribute to the exclusi
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There may be sound
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system as a system of rules regardi
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Box 3 Namibian land refor</
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Box 4 Focus AfricaCustomary rights
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property, some indigenous peoples a
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• Where consensus is hard to obta
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and the establishment of transparen
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which develop into a fully serviced
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Box 5 Sale of land: examples oflega
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as collateral more of the poor woul
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Enhancing Access to Land and Real P
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Box 8 Example of Singapore:public h
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Box 10 Slum upgradinginitiative in
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2. Pay Attention to Sequencing. <st
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Foster Coalitions of Change in Favo
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Chapter 2 EndnotesUniversal Declara
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ers, refl ecting the allocation of
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ing industry through the scheme. (S
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193 See Tomlinson 2007.194 UN-ESCAP
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presented at the National W
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Property Rights.’ At: http://www.
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Empowerment, issue 2, Oslo: 65-90.R
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ChapterTHREETowards a GlobalSocial
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and grounded in conditions of freed
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Support inclusive social protection
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tions that follow from this, and em
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2. Labour Rights, Infor</st
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ployment in developing countries: s
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Box 1 Different Categories of In<st
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In North American, European Union,
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self-employed persons in OECD count
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all cases, the infor</stron
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A New Departure: Fundamental Princi
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The conclusions st
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forcement and, eve
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e granted to people as citizens rat
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uncertainty as to the existence of
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surveys discussed below, the ICA su
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e lower than that created by other
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tion, and civil security, which typ
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and the quantity of employment oppo
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equity. The key to
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works, first by allowing fo
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and of regulations should involve a
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Process recommendationsOur working
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Towards a New Social Contract.<stro
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on Gender Indicators of the Inter-A
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Case 4:Collective identity, collect
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nomic and social development plans
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Case 7:Social security for<
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our inspection and sanction and it
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the law and therefor</stron
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Chapter 3 Endnotes1 See Resolution
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83 Boundary: a cab driver,
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_______. 2002a. ‘Decent W
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ChapterFOURBusiness Rights195
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Informal and <stro
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tion in decision making that promot
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workers as well as the self-employe
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Good initiatives have been undertak
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obtain formal, per
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the government’s ability to issue
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and those in transition, as well as
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ers employed by households, to ‘d
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Figure 1 GDP Per Capita and the Siz
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social insurance, and need
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Box 1 Empowering Indigenouspeoples
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mand for af<strong
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Box 2 Unlocking Barriers: Legal Mec
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tion is inadequate or the roads are
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Figure 4 Regulatory Environment and
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statements, invoices, etc.). Accord
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ights. Other benefits would include
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agricultural activities more produc
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primary health system. Similarly, i
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(owned by men with access to credit
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provides protection to low-income p
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private-partnerships (PPPs) that ca
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enterprises. Developing effective s
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Case Study:‘Tell us how to make l
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Case Study:Business Registration Re
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10. Establish a single business ide
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Expansion1. Distribute both positiv
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successfully without much additiona
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• Asset protection;• Capital pr
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‘entrepreneurship inspired by nec
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millions who operate poor, micro in
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In developing and promoting new app
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institutional instruments to make t
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Figure 5Legal Empowerment of In<str
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forward linkages o
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of public space, tax-funded incenti
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33 Chen, M. Rethinking the In<stron
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Chapter 4 BibliographyADB, ‘Legal
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WIEGO, ‘Accra Hawkers Association
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYExisting power str
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take effect quickly. Individual unc
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ping; competencies assessment; conf
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sort out the conflicting elements a
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so the Commission
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menu of possible Legal Empowerment
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ership. Legal Empowerment of the Po
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to be frictional for</stron
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jority of the population in many co
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At the national level, a society’
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programme — which accrues to the
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Dharavi’s residents lack ownershi
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een a far greater number of authori
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eform, as Box 5.3
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ased work easier to fit in around t
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Box 5.4 Organising out ofPoverty: T
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should be designed, what tradeoffs
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flip side of forum
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Lessons may be drawn from knowledge
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Table 5.4 Skeleton Diagnostic Tool:
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of interests). Without the commitme
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Table 5.6 Empowerment Domain 1: Acc
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Box 5.6 Gold Rush in Mongolia: from
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eforms, per se, bu
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Table 5.10 LEP Implementation Strat
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need and the potential for<
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• Action planning: Development of
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Table 5.11 Pro-poor policy implemen
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4. Customize the choice of monitori
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of touch with the desires of the po
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munity empowerment, especially if t
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elevance to a particular area of in
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view the current state of practice
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Training (on leadership, group work
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of labour disputes: An internationa
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categories don’t interest us. But
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• Since 1996, Institute f
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Chapter 5 Endnotes1 The</st
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Chapter 5 BibliographyAbdul-Jalil,
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The Commis
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