«Judicial Reform

Study questions Garro access to justice

1. Is there a general consensus in Latin America, at least in theory, that access to justice is a good thing, even a necessary thing?
2. Can you identify several types of legal assistance programs?
3. Which groups seem to have the greatest difficulties in accessing these legal assistance programs?
4. What are the main weaknesses of publicly funded programs?
5. What provisions exist for avoiding some of the costs of litigating, for indigent litigants?
6. What is the traditional model/goal of legal services for the poor?
7. What are the shortcomings of this model?
8. Garro argues that what is needed (in addition to the traditional services) is a new kind of lawyer, new grass-roots organizations, and a new institutional framework. What do these look like?
9. He also argues that you need wholesale institutional reform, not just more free lawyers. What does this reform aim to accomplish?
10. How would he reduce court costs?
11. What kinds of procedural reforms are necessary? How can you empower certain actors to act on behalf of the public interest?
12. How do informal proceedings and alternative dispute resolution help?
13. What does legal education have to do with access to justice?