Achievement, concern, and opportunity

It was special to participate in the 10^th OECD Global Access to Justice Round Table, in Madrid. A BIG thank you to the OECD team and the team of the Spanish Ministry of Justice who pulled it together. Below, three reflections and a strategic conclusion.

We’ve progressed!

As someone who has been banging on about the need for people centered justice systems for almost 20 years, I am pleased and grateful to see where we stand. Back then, talk was almost entirely about better laws and strengthening institutions. Rule of law was something that could be worked out in an election cycle, a peace process and be logframed. The idea of knowing justice needs of users was fringe. Justice innovation as a concept did not exist. Rule of law did not need user-data. Access to justice was for left-wing sandal-wearing tree-huggers.

In these past three days, a growing community of around 50 leaders and more than 100 technical experts from all over the world came together. We were formally dressed. We came from ministries of justice, judiciaries, prosecution services, legal aid boards, justice NGOs, and universities. We had access to user-data from the World Justice Project, HiiL and others. We could draw on many policy documents and emerging best practices. We talked about building people centered justice systems, putting people at the center, how to get better data, and how to innovate and harness AI. Nobody had a Magical Four-Year-Plan, but, instead, spoke of continuous improvement, sustainable efforts, bringing in new skills - always recognizing complexity. We were a community with a shared foundation: the OECD Recommendation on People Centered Justice Systems that applies to its 38 member states, to which the EU has also adhered. Of the five OECD partner countries - Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa – India actively participated. As did Thailand, Egypt and Sierra Leone. Amazing change!

We’re in trouble!

“I don’t even know what to call it anymore”, was how one of the participants described where we are. While we were improving the roof of the house, the foundations crumbled without much notice. The data is chilling.

The global rule of law recession has accelerated, says the  WJP Rule of Law Index: 68% of countries declined in their rule of law in 2025. The average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.36 per cent - the 13th deterioration in the last 17 years – says the 2025 Global Peace Index. Global conflict levels almost doubled over the past five years, according to ACLED. There is unprecedented global democratic decline, says the Economist Intelligence Democracy Index; the average score fell to 5.17 - lowest since the index began in 2006. The V-Dem democracy report speaks of a “global wave of autocratization”, explaining that “the level of democracy for the average world citizen is back to 1985.”.  “[S]ocietal fractures sit at the centre of today’s risk landscape”, says the 2025 WEF Global Risks Report , “with inequality emerging as the most interconnected driver - both fueling and being fueled by weakening trust and eroding shared values.”

Without the foundations of democracy and rule of law, people centeredness is useless. We need to go back to basics. In line with this, OECD Deputy Secretary-General Mary Beth Goodman said in her opening remarks that ‘trust’ was her real target - strengthening and restoring it. Rule of law is good for the economy, emphasized the Spanish State Secretary of Justice Manuel Palacio. They are both right, and they are also right that people centered justice systems are a good (and I would add, affordable) way to get there. This conclusion puts huge pressure under the work of our people centered justice community. We need to make our contribution to repairing the foundation – fast. To do that we need to deliver - equally fast. That requires five things.

First: recognition of the size and urgency of the problem and what is at stake. Second, increased ability to rapidly recognize needs and quick wins. Third, capacity to then develop and deploy effective responses to them – fast. This, in turn means: be at the top of our game, and work as an egoless network, not bent on expanding our own organisational territory, but on deploying and connecting each other’s strengths to restore the foundation of our house. Fourth: investment. Traditional development donors are pulling back. Foundations can’t fill the gap. Hamstrung governments need to do more themselves. The Justice Financing Framework, developed under the umbrella of the Justice Action Coalition, provides a foundation. There is more knowledge emerging. We need to continue to prioritize out understanding of financing justice – money will be a mayor determinant. It is good to see the EU continuing to prioritize this. One of the leaders of the people centered digitalisation effort of Spain told me how important EU funding had been to make it happen. Not only as a resource, but also as a political force to get things going. Fifth, we must improve the story we are telling. Less formalistic, preachy talk about rule of law, independence of judges, and separation of powers. More about where justice and rule of law make a difference in the lives of people, communities, and businesses. More about outcomes. “There is a community behind every small business in Africa…”, said HiiL CEO Udo Ilo, “if the business has a legal issue in most places, it dies, with dire consequences for that community”. Anda Smiltēna, the Deputy State Secretary on Law Policy of the Ministry of Justice of Latvia, took us through the knot of legal complexities faced by a couple that wants to open a coffeeshop. We must tell the prime minister that the OECD and the World Justice Project have worked out that the cumulative cost of unresolved justice problems lies between at 0.5–3% of his country’s GDP. Does he want growth?

We’re being disrupted!

While were working on a better roof and lost sight of the foundation, a complete new building tool was invented. AI. A huge disruptor that is disrupting fast. It can bring a lot of good in a world where judges and lawyers generally can’t handle more than 5 to 8% of legal problems. It can bring a lot of bad if indentity becomes meaningless and human control is lost.

Despite the warnings from government, bar associations, and others, people are massively asking Chat GPT to help with their consumer, landlord, and employment issues (just as they are doing for medical issues). They won’t wait for parliaments, ministerial budget negotiations, and inter-ministerial working groups to come with a plan. Nor will the companies that are driving the AI revolution. Already now, AI models can draft contracts, judgements and legal briefs. Richard Susskind predicted a fast changing justice landscape. Margaret Hagan shared three levels of strategy we need: one within our own organisation (say, the Judiciary of Spain), another within our ecosystem (say, the justice system and wider public service ecosystem of Spain), and an external one (say, for everyone in the country of Spain, the EU, and maybe more than that). Experts like her know what needs to be done. I can only summarize it as a lot of tedious, hard work, with skills that legal experts generally don’t have.

Achievement, concern, and opportunity

That’s where we are. A strong and growing people centered justice community. Rule of law foundations in trouble. A tool that can help us considerably or make matters worse.

That gives us three urgent strategic priorities that need to be acted on, fast.

First, to further strengthen our community. Grow the expertise, include countries who are not part of the OECD universe, and build more ability to connect, learn, and access best practices. Second: focus the community on rule of law foundations, defined as outcomes for people, communities and businesses – with the five focus areas. Third: rapidly get on top of AI as a tool to help us do this.

We, at Justice Compass Advisers, stand ready to support justice leaders with making strategies that fit into this complex landscape.