Technology

Digital trails could endanger people and organizations in various high-risk contexts. This session provided an
overview of a data responsibility framework, the risks surrounding the use of communication channels with
regards to metadata, and explored practical mitigation strategies. By addressing case studies involving
whistleblowers, human rights activists, journalists and aid workers, the session encouraged attendees to
ask relevant questions and take home answers for their own organizations.The session concluded with
three key points. First, was a call to action, encouraging humanitarian organizations to avoid abstract
discussions about metadata, but to engage at the ground level and produce tangible outcomes. Second,
was to highlight that threat models are constantly changing and it is important for organizations to
frequently re-evaluate the risks they are exposed to and reexamine their data responsibility framework.
Finally, the Centre for Innovation presented an assessment framework for assessing metadata risks of
messaging platforms. They underscored how important it is for organizations to better understand how
metadata is collected and stored by platforms and be aware of the risks associated with using social
messaging platforms.

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To bridge the justice gap, innovation is needed, yet the regulation of legal services and procedural rules
create obstacles. The Innovation Working Group of the Task Force on Justice has called for a “level playing
field.” In this working session, representatives of the access to justice movement and organized bars
considered case studies from South Africa, the United States and elsewhere and engaged in constructive
dialogue. The session considered three issues: How to regulate high quality justice journeys that lead to fair
solutions? What should the focus be on regulation and deregulation efforts? And how to create a level
playing field? 

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Court systems around the world are recognizing that to truly deliver justice, they must modernize both their host systems and their approaches. This session first described the trends and successes in automation, such as the use of Legal XML to standardize and streamline the eFiling and eService submission process, as well as the challenges of sustainability and public access. To address these challenges, speakers recommended the use of open sources and widely used software. The session then looked at how Online Dispute Resolution has enabled new approaches in the area of high-volume, low-value claims important to everyday litigants by leveraging features such as asynchronous communication, legal information and triage, mediation and negotiation spaces, and document creation, storage, and court payment.

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Creative communications strategies can play a critical role in building public support and engaging key policy-makers to advance reforms needed to increase access to justice. In this working session the United States of Peace shared how they used documentary filmmaking in order to improve their communication, and highlight their work and processes, through the example of a project in Burkina Faso with police and the community. The World Justice Project showcased its work in Mexico around using statistics and storytelling to combat torture. The positive aspects of documentary filmmaking proved to powerful empathy-building tools and useful in generating conversations around the subject.

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Effective use of data and design can be a powerful driver of successful access to justice solutions. This session, inspired by the “School of Data” workshops for journalists, educated and empowered those working in the legal and social sector to use these tools effectively. The workshop leads provided an overview on trends in data, noting the explosion in sources of and amount of data, including from sources in the “internet of things” thought to have strictly commercial value, but with ever-increasing applicability to solving larger social and justice problems. Another key trend is that a provider-centric approach to delivering legal services is giving way to a person-centered view of legal needs, driven by survey and other data. For example, increased use of data demonstrated that the allocation of legal provider resources were not well matched to the legal needs of the population, such that, for example, many providers offered family law services when a great number of people reported medical issues as their primary legal need. The working session then described and examined a series of case studies of individuals or organizations that had mined data sources or otherwise used data in order to better understand or tackle a justice problem, such as Clear My Record by Code for America. Outcomes included increased data-literacy, the ability to spot data-project potential, and building a collaborative data and design ecosystem.

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