TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR BETTER ACCESS TO JUSTICE
The justice system in Pakistan is stressed for several reasons including: lack of human and material resources to dispense speedy justice; lack of emphasis on legal research; and ill-equipped lawyers who lack practical skills and training opportunities. As a consequence, justice is often delayed. Many marginalized persons, especially the poor and women, find it difficult to access or avoid the legal system due to the stigma attached to approaching courts and difficulty in understanding court procedures. In this context, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is attracting increasing attention among state and non-state actors, as there is a perception that the formal legal system alone cannot provide adequate justice to individual citizens.
In the broader context of the project ‘Mainstreaming Alternative Dispute Resolution for Equitable Access to Justice in Pakistan’ that aims to mainstream ADR mechanisms in the judicial system of Pakistan and to facilitate broad-based access to equitable justice, The Asia Foundation in coordination with ADR Center Società Benefit in Rome has conducted an advanced level training- a training of trainers (TOT) on mediation, which included judges nominated by the Sindh Judicial Academy and the Honorable Lahore High Court.
This training activity reached successfully its final goal of forming a cadre of local Master Mediation Trainers who will carry out further trainings for judges in several districts of Sindh.
