People’s experiences and views of the justice system

Authors

Dr Anna Tsalapatanis

Dr Janice Tripney

Dr Mark Newman

Carol Vigurs

Dr Karen Nokes

Overview

Executive summary

This study applies a systematic review methodology to map and synthesise the existing research on public users’ experiences and views of the justice system, as well as interventions to address or improve these experiences. The methodology involved a two-step review: firstly mapping the primary research conducted in the UK published between 1995 and 2025 across all courts and tribunals; and then secondly narrowing the focus to synthesise the research on views and experiences of users, focusing on civil, administrative, and family justice, published since 2010.

Findings

The findings from this study highlight a range of core themes from the literature, including: public users’ reasons for engaging with courts and tribunals; their sources of information, advice, and support; the impact of interactions with the justice system on people’s lives; and the effects of the state of the justice system on experiences. They also highlight the particularly difficult experiences of certain types of users, such as survivors of domestic abuse. Furthermore, this report analyses the relatively limited and mainly process-focused interventions in this field, as well as offering reflections on the strengths and limitations of the included studies. One major finding of this research relates to weaknesses in the ways in which many of the included studies were reported. This includes their description of their sample, methods, and analysis; the absence of considerations of limitations or validity; and not adequately distinguishing empirical findings from insights from the literature.

Discussion

The final discussion section of the report presents a series of overarching themes and findings that have emerged from the overall study including clear evidence that:

Public users’ information, assistance, and emotional needs are not being met.
The impact of the withdrawal of investment, austerity, and cost cutting on the justice system has led to a significant negative impact on public user experience.
Public users often don’t know what to expect or have misplaced expectations of courts and tribunals, exacerbating other concerns around understanding.
Some professional users, notably judges, are going to significant lengths to help enable understanding and participation, and there is evidence that this improves how users see the process.
There is a need for improvements in the processes around reasonable adjustments and special measures.
Public user engagement with courts and tribunals does not occur in isolation, with personal experiences and circumstances affecting engagement, and engagement having broader impacts on lives and networks.

Public right to justice

Our Public right to justice (PRTJ) programme is examining how the justice system serves the public and how it can better meet people’s legal needs. Building on our longstanding interest in justice as a cornerstone of a well-functioning society, the programme examines whether the system in England and Wales is working as it should for everyone who needs it.

Recommendations

This report then provides recommendations on ways to transform the justice system, areas where further research is required, and approaches to improve research and reporting standards (details of each recommendation are given in Section 9 of the full report):

Recommended ways to transform the justice system

Improve information provision for public users.
Develop better systems for identifying and addressing reasonable adjustments and special measures.
Provide better resourcing to improve outcomes, including significant changes to the provision of legal aid.
Develop better training for professional users.
Explore of the use of less adversarial approaches, especially in the Family Court.
Build a stronger evaluative culture within the justice system.
Adopt human-centred design approaches to work on re-engineering justice systems to better meet the needs of their public users.

Recommendations on areas of research

Research that focuses on the ‘whole of journey’ or longitudinal approaches.
Research that explores the ‘radiating’ impacts on networks and lives of engaging with courts and tribunals.
Research that focuses on the impact of intersectionality on user experiences and journeys.
Research that focuses on high-quality intervention studies.
Economic analysis of the consequential impacts of the withdrawal of funding.
Greater efforts to consolidate and synthesise existing research.