The strategies shared here may inform thinking and bring new perspectives.
Our focus is on the criminal justice system, initially as it operates in the common law jurisdictions, because there is “an inseparable link between the protection of individual and collective human rights and democracy. The field of battle in which democracy and human rights are tested is the administration of criminal justice.” (Cherif Bassiouni, Professor of Law at DePaul University, USA and President of the International Human Rights Law Institute)
The GJG sets out a strategy for looking at the criminal justice system in countries where it has either collapsed or is not working properly. It looks at governance issues and views justice as a process from the initial dispute or offence in the local community and, where it is not settled locally, how it proceeds through the ‘formal’ system to final settlement. Our approach emphasises the importance of accessing both the informal and formal systems of justice to provide solutions to people’s problems. This not only reduces pressure on the formal system, but also provides appropriate solutions at the local level.
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