Foreword

– Gavin Kelly, Chief Executive, Nuffield Foundation

A fair and functioning justice system is essential for our social and economic well-being – but do people truly have the access to justice they need, and that we expect, in a modern democratic state?

This question lies at the heart of the Foundation’s Public right to justice programme. 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.

In the best tradition of the Nuffield Foundation, this work addresses a big normative question in a robust empirical way. These essays – commissioned from leading thinkers across academia, policy, and practice – are intended as a primer for that work, sparking, we hope, wider discussion on why the justice system matters to us all and what we should be able to expect from it.

The publication of these timely essays chimes well with the launch of the Nuffield Foundation’s new Strategic Review. The way in which the contributions explore what the justice system means for society and our economy ranges far beyond the confines of the administration of justice – vital though that is – and reflects our goal of bringing new perspectives to bear on some of the key issues of our times.

As many of the essays make clear, the role of the justice system is too often viewed as a specialist concern, of little interest to those who have no direct contact with it. Outside of the criminal justice system – and even then, only intermittently – justice attracts little public attention or political priority. Yet this belies its foundational importance, as the justice system underpins our everyday social and economic lives and upholds the very values on which a cohesive society depends.

The intention here is not to argue simply for more resources, although these essays make plain that a lack of investment underpins a number of the problems the justice system faces. Several authors also invite us to think more deeply about the implications of living in an increasingly ‘law-thick’ era – both what this means for our political, economic, and social structures and norms, and the potentially damaging consequences that arise when the system to enforce those laws is under-funded, deprioritised, or simply not understood.

The essay collection presented here offers compelling, accessible, and diverse insights into why justice matters. We hope they animate public debate about the justice system we need and should have a right to expect.

On behalf of the Foundation, I would like to thank all the authors for their thought-provoking contributions, former Nuffield Trustee Sir Ernest Ryder for inspiring this project, and the series editor Tom Clark for expertly overseeing the endeavour.