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is secured through social pressure or more organisedstructures invoked to ensure that parties tothe conflict abide by the common decision.Because these systems have been studiedmore intensively than the loose spontaneousordering that has been discussed above, more isknown about their weaknesses. These often workagainst the poor. Informal systems tend to reinforceexisting power structures. Because they arebased on consensus, women and disadvantagedgroups may not be assisted to overcome differencesin power levels. Mediated settlements canonly reflect “what the stronger is willing to concedeand the weaker can successfully demand.”(Wojkowska 2006). And sometimes local normssuggest solutions that are clearly against the interestsof the weakest (they are regularly all poor).For those living on less than $1 a day, the formallegal system is often out of reach. As we haveseen, fees for birth registration can already be unaffordable,and a court action to protect propertyrights or to enforce a contract with a tenant is outof the question. The only dealings the poor mayhave with the official justice system may be asdefendants in criminal cases, in which they willnormally have to cope without legal representation.They may suffer from bureaucratic proceduresand red tape (see Chapters 2, 3 and 4), or frompolice abuse. On the other hand, if the poor livein a country that has a functioning legal system,the influence of formal legal rules and the threatof intervention by neutral courts, even if just aremote possibility, should not be underestimated(Kauffmann 2003).The actual situation from which processes improvingaccess to justice have to start can be summarisedas follows. The poor have legal grievancesand are even more likely to have such grievances,because of the scarcity in which they live andbecause they are more likely to be dependent onothers that are more powerful. They may havesome options to access their rights, throughspontaneous arrangements, through faith-basedsystems, through informal justice, or through theformal legal system. But through these options,taken jointly, they are unlikely to obtain fair andjust outcomes against reasonable cost.Starting with the legal needs of the poor is essentialin a legal empowerment approach. Suchan analysis can clarify which elements of the ruleof law are particularly important for the poor andto which neutral interventions they need access.Targeting the most common legal needs can helpto make legal institutions more responsive. Attemptsto improve access to justice are less likelyto succeed if they aim at access to criminal andcivil justice in the abstract. Justice is costly toprovide and priority setting is essential. Table 1highlights some likely priorities, and shows inwhich parts of this chapter these are discussed.It takes the perspective of individuals needinglaw to protect them and to solve their disputes,rather than the perspective of the lawyer who appliesrules. Which norms do poor people need toknow and to apply, and which interventions canhelp them?Seen from this side, many norms (like the onesprotecting property against theft, and life againstmurder) are self-evident, whilst other norms mayyet need to be formed, or interpreted to becomeeasily applicable (such as the ones on division orcompensation in property disputes or on terminationof an employment contract). Likewise, theneeds for interventions may be different. Seenfrom the perspective of the poor, criminal actsshould perhaps primarily be deterred, problems inongoing relationships should primarily be settledin a fair and just manner, for commercial transactionssimple enforcement of debts may be the14