Launched in 2023 as a partnership between the ABF Access to Justice Research Initiative, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), and the World Bank, the Justice Data Observatory aims to understand, shape, and build global evidence that informs how people-centered access to justice can combat poverty and inequality, promote inclusive development and growth, and empower democratic participation and governance through sustained research to support evidence-based policy and practice. Four key activities advance these goals: convening groups of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners across low-, middle-, and high-income countries; developing synthetic and integrative approaches to shared research questions on access to justice globally; supporting the production and dissemination of original access to justice research and sources of data related to shared research questions; and, advocating for evidence-based approaches to access to justice policy and practice.
Its first report, People Centered Access to Justice Research: A Global Perspective, synthesized a review of the literature and interviews with global experts to reveal two aspects of existing research on people-centered justice: what research questions have been explored and what have not; and, the kinds of country contexts for which research and data do and do not exist. Based on these findings, it suggests a three prong research agenda for people-centered justice: 1) why people-centered justice matters; 2) how people-centered justice matters for policy; and 3) knowledge for implementation, or what works.
A new edited volume by the Justice Data Observatory takes these insights a step further. Bringing together leading scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from around the world, Global Perspectives on People-Centered Justice: Exploring the Evidence (eds. Matthew Burnett and Rebecca L. Sandefur) examines what we know—and what remains to be understood—about building justice systems that are accessible and effective for everyday people. Spanning issues from poverty and democratic governance to children’s rights, disability, and legal technology, this volume highlights the importance of grounding access to justice in both empirical evidence and the lived experiences of those it is meant to serve.
Alongside this research, the JDO has hosted several workshops at global conferences, as well as regional conferences and workshops in Latin America, Africa, and Europe. In addition to amplifying country-level and regional people-centered justice research and scholars, these efforts have served as a springboard for regional research networks and collaboration. The next conference and workshop will be held at Adolfo Ibáñez University in Santiago, Chile in partnership with FGV Law São Paulo, Justice Studies Center of the Americas (CEJA), Justice Futures Project at Arizona State University, and the Adolfo Ibáñez University (UAI) School of Law.
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About the American Bar Foundation
The American Bar Foundation (ABF) is the world’s leading research institute for the empirical and interdisciplinary study of law. The ABF seeks to expand knowledge and advance justice through innovative, interdisciplinary, and rigorous empirical research on law, legal processes, and legal institutions. To further this mission the ABF will produce timely, cutting-edge research of the highest quality to inform and guide the legal profession, the academy, and society in the United States and internationally. The ABF’s primary funding is provided by the American Bar Endowment and the Fellows of The American Bar Foundation.