Access to justice is both a fundamental right in itself and a precondition for the enjoyment of other rights. Its conceptualisation requires the inclusion of dispute resolution mechanisms as part of both formal and informal justice institutions, especially in the wake of increasing awareness of the limitations of courts and tribunals as redress mechanisms.
In 2018 the International Bar Association's Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee has commissioned the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law to conduct an international study on the variety of institutional and jurisdictional arrangements, operational methods and decision-making processes related to ombudsman offices across jurisdictions.
Project Report
Authors: Julinda Beqiraj, Sabina Garahan and Kelly Shuttleworth
Against this background, this report seeks to identify existing and emerging worldwide practices and trends in the development and use of the ombudsman structure, to bridge the gaps created by formal, expensive and lengthy dispute resolution processes.
