The New Zealand Law Society | Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa has released the draft research report: ‘Access to Justice – a stocktake of initiatives’.

In introducing the report, Law Society President, Tiana Epati, notes that “assisting and promoting the reform of the law for the purpose of upholding the rule of law and the administration of justice is a key function for the Law Society and that remains unchanged”.

“This report, however, illustrates our willingness to explore these issues differently, taking a people-centred approach to better understand the issues from a consumer rather than a system perspective. We know this may challenge some conventional thinking or preconceptions of our role and I welcome that; fresh thinking can be the catalyst for innovation and new initiatives.

Our aim is to build a picture of the range of access to justice initiatives across Aotearoa New Zealand and to engage with stakeholders to better understand that broader landscape. Alongside this, we are also building a fuller picture of international initiatives.”

Consultation on the draft report is open from now until 3 August.  Any questions or comments can be directed to accesstojustice@lawsociety.org.nz.  A copy of the report is available here.