Voices of the Vulnerable: Promoting Access to Justice in Sub-Saharan Africa

Limited access to justice is a root cause of underdevelopment, social unrest, and conflict. Expanding access to all and especially vulnerable groups including women, the young, small business owners and the poor is clearly paramount for a peaceful and prosperous continent. Justice means different things to different people, particularly the multiple actors who design and administer justice systems and affect the outcomes. Elected leaders eager to respect aspirations for a fair society with human rights and accountable governance. Judges, lawyers, and service providers view justice as a moral duty to guarantee fairness before the law. Business leaders look to courts to resolve contract disputes and keep transaction costs and risks low. Yet the voices of vulnerable groups, who are the most impacted when justice fails, are not often heard in discussions regarding justice systems. This book aims to boost knowledge and improve decision making by exploring the perspectives of what justice means to the most vulnerable people and how to improve their access to justice.