Rethinking Access to Justice

The focus of this webinar, is the role of the non-state in providing justice in contexts where formal systems of justice may be limited and lack legitimacy. Drawing on extensive work in the small islands of the Pacific, Danielle Watson will consider what ‘Access to Justice’ means in these and similar contexts.

Non-state justice mechanisms in the Pacific: A call to rethink what we know about Access to Justice

Associate Professor Danielle Watson, School of Justice, Queensland University of Technology.

Abstract: In many Pacific Island nations, traditional and customary justice systems play a critical role in resolving disputes and maintaining social order, often operating parallel to formal state justice mechanisms. Strong communal ties, social and cultural norms, limited state visibility and strained resources impact on interpretations and application of state laws and facilitate community-oriented approaches to justice along with tailored law enforcement responses informed by an acknowledgement of parallel regulatory systems with local legitimacy. This presentation will provide an overview of non-state justice mechanisms in the Pacific region, focusing on their roles, effectiveness, and interactions with formal state legal systems. It will;
(1) highlight various examples of non-state mechanisms – village councils, tribal elders, and community-based arbitration,
(2) comment on their impact on local governance and justice delivery in various Pacific islands and,
(3) provide insight into how these non-state mechanisms address local needs and cultural norms, often providing more accessible and culturally resonant forms of justice than formal systems.

Additionally, the presentation will touch on challenges and tensions that arise from the coexistence of traditional and state legal frameworks, including issues of legitimacy, human rights and legal pluralism. The goal here is to emphasise the importance of acknowledging and integrating non-state justice mechanisms into broader legal reforms to enhance the effectiveness and inclusivity of justice systems in small-island developing states.

Bio: Danielle Watson is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Justice, Queensland University of Technology (QUT). She co-leads QUT’s Indo-Pacific and Small Islands Security Governance Research Groups, is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of the South Pacific and an Affiliate of the Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI). She conducts research on (in)security in small island developing states, capacity building for security service providers, policing culturally and linguistically diverse communities, plural regulatory systems and other areas specific to improving security governance in developing country contexts.

This webinar is the fourth of a series of bi-monthly webinars entitled Security and Justice Futures which aim to confront the dilemmas, re-imaginings and futures of security and justice from a cross-regional perspective. Drawing from a range of speakers from north and south contexts, the series seeks to engage with both academic and practitioner audiences to encourage a mutual dialogue on the futures of security and justice in diverse contexts.

Main image: Gherardo Sava, Maupiti island, UnSplash.