The justice system in England and Wales is under sustained pressure. There are growing challenges around fairness, efficiency and public trust, with many people struggling to access effective support for their legal problems. Yet these issues often fail to attract wider public or political attention, especially outside of criminal justice, and long-term improvement is proving difficult to achieve.
But what does a more ‘people-focused’ justice system look like and how could it be achieved?
1. Recognise justice as a key public institution
How justice is framed shapes how it is prioritised politically, publicly, and in policy. A narrow focus on its dispute resolution function risks undervaluing the broader role that the justice system plays in underpinning accountability, public trust, and the rule of law.
Policymakers, politicians and the general public need to better understand justice not simply as a service for resolving disputes, but as a vital democratic and constitutional institution.
2. Understand what’s driving increased demand
Better insight into rising demand for the justice system to settle disputes is crucial. This increase is shaped by both ‘push’ factors – including pressures on public services in areas such as housing, education and welfare which may prompt more people to challenge decisions made about them – and ‘pull’ factors such as increased access to information, digital tools and AI, which are raising awareness of rights and helping people to take action themselves even without legal advice.
Understanding these dynamics is critical otherwise efforts to reform the system risk treating just the symptoms of demand rather than its causes.
3. Focus on access to solutions
Access to justice should be understood more widely, focusing not just on people being able to access and navigate legal processes, but also on whether they can secure the most appropriate solution to their problem without unnecessary complexity, stress, delay or cost.
And while fair and transparent processes are essential, it is also vital that court and tribunal decisions truly count by ensuring remedies are properly enforced.
4. Use of AI and digital tools to improve pathways through the system
The complexity and fragmentation of the justice system continue to present significant barriers. Properly deployed, digital tools, including AI, could offer new ways to improve accessibility, for example by providing simpler points of entry to the system, and have as-yet unrealised potential to provide timely, affordable, and accessible legal information to people directly.
Poorly designed or inappropriately used tools risk creating new forms of inequality, exclusion, or misunderstanding. Ensuring their responsible development, use, and evaluation is therefore essential.
5. Embed learning, evidence, and innovation
To better understand what works, inform investment, and coordinate approaches to reform, a more systematic focus on learning from research, people’s experiences, and previous reform attempts is needed across the justice system and public services.
6. Drive systemic change across the justice system
It is essential to think about reform across the whole system, including earlier intervention. Improvements in access to justice and outcomes cannot be achieved through changes to court and tribunal hearings alone but require a bolder approach to drive meaningful transformation at every stage of a person’s legal problem. Delivering this should be a political and societal priority, not just a legal one.
This article was inspired by a recent event held as part of our Public right to justice programme (PRTJ), which brought together academics, policymakers and practitioners to explore the future of justice reform. Chaired by Professor Gráinne McKeever from the University of Ulster, the discussion highlighted both the challenges of trying to change a traditional, complex and fragmented system, and ideas for new approaches.
PRTJ is examining how the justice system serves the public and how it can better meet people’s legal needs. To support this work, the Nuffield Foundation is seeking research proposals that can generate practical and conceptual solutions for improving the justice system. The Main Grants fund is now open, and the deadline to apply is 5 October.
