About
The Access to Justice Knowledge Hub is about having the voices of persons with disabilities heard equally and fairly within justice system procedures. Having one’s voice equally heard is achieved by ensuring effective participation. Accommodations help pave the way.
About The Hub
The Hub draws from the spirit and letter of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in particular Article 13 on Access to justice.
It also draws from:
- Article 2 (Reasonable accommodation)
- Article 5 (Equality and non-discrimination)
- Article 12 (Equal recognition before the law)
- Article 14 (Liberty and security of the person)
- Article 16 on (Freedom from exploitation and abuse)
The need
The justice system mediates much of our lives. The criminal justice system is charged with delivering justice regarding those who have committed or been the victim of a crime. Going through its processes will determine guilt or innocence. A witness will be believed or be discredited. Countless other areas of life— benefits and entitlements, contracts, torts, discrimination and human rights litigation, and any civil dispute—are adjudicated by the civil or administrative justice system.
Thus, full participation in investigations, processes and hearings at the police and in all formal, quasi-judicial and informal tribunals is fundamental to fairness.
When it comes to persons with disabilities, however, their participation will highly likely be compromised, due to stigma, overlooking their experience, and not knowing how to accommodate their ways of understanding and communicating.
This results in unfairness
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For those who are victims of crime -
— in under-reporting of crime and dismissal of cases that are reported, and decreased rates of indictmet
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For suspects and defendants -
— in increased risk of false confessions and misunderstandings
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For all parties -
(whether victims, defendants or witnesses) — in not receiving a fair hearing, and the discrediting of their testimony
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For those carrying out a sentence -
— in lack of accommodations, leading to increased exposure to mistreatment and abuse and unequal access to early release or reintegration
Primacy of communication
The required response to physical barriers is obvious: remove the barriers, and design and build for universal access (ramps, elevators). This is applicable everywhere and not specific to the justice system.
However, barriers to typical communication (which could arise from a physical, sensory, intellectual or psychosocial disability) are more likely seen as a problem with the person rather than the system.
In court proceedings, this is compounded by the rigid nature of procedural and evidence rules and the need to respect the rights of all sides to the matter. Thus, a central aspect of the Hub will be to create an enabling environment where all can participate and be equally and fairly heard in justice procedures, without a disability that affects their mode of communication playing against them.
In devising responses, what matters is not a person’s medical diagnosis but the ways in which a person communicates and can be accommodated to both understand and be understood.