Access to Justice for Disadvantaged Communities

Justice is a basic human right in all democratic doctrines, but in Britain, where welfare has faced recent market-based reforms, it’s increasingly a right available only to those who can afford it. Professionals and volunteers are struggling to provide services such as legal counselling and representation to disadvantaged communities. This book explores how strategies to safeguard these vital services can strengthen, rather than undermine, the basic ethics and principles of public service provision. The authors show how such safeguarding might improve the positions of those who administer—as well as those who need—publicly provided legal services. Though focused on Britain, their findings reverberate to the United States and all democracies undergoing similar challenges in the public sphere.