The causes of inaccessibility to justice are complex, and are rooted in a social system which perpetuates existing social imbalance in power structures, and a legal system that needs to reform itself to address the emerging needs of the people to access justice, both in governance and market practices. Different social groups, which have been marginalized due to lack of education, poor socio economic status, geographical location or belonging to specific gender or ethnic groups, need special attention of implementing agencies to facilitate them to seek and receive justice. The strategy for community awareness and empowerment needs to take into account these considerations to make a realistic and practical activity plan for ensuring that these concerns are effectively addressed.

The Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights, Government of Pakistan is executing the Access to Justice Program (AJP) through its Project Management Unit (PMU), with the financial assistance of Asian Development Bank (ADB), to promote access to justice by the citizens of Pakistan. One component of the AJP is technical assistance (TA) for Institutional Development for Access to Justice. The TA has been categorized into six batches, each targeting different areas of justice. The Batch 3 of TA is Community Empowerment / Awareness which is being executed by CRCP. The ToRs of Batch 3 have been divided into seven thematic areas: (1) Legal materials in Urdu language (2) Public information kiosks in subordinate courts and four high courts (3 & 4) Public Campaign on Freedom of Information Act and Consumer Protection Law & Public Campaign on police reforms, independent prosecution service and judicial accountability (5) Comprehensive review of laws affecting the vulnerable poor (6) reports of ombudsman, and (7) Preparation of provincial codes.

Send us your comments online or by mail at the address given below:

Project Manager Access to Justice Programme (AJP) Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) House 13, St.1, G-6/3 Islamabad. Ph: 0092-51-111-739-739; Fax: 0092-51-2825336 E-mail: main@crcp.org.pk

Community Empowerment/Awareness, Access to Justice Programme (AJP)