Program
Strengthening Justice Systems to Expand Legal Access
Many rural and vulnerable communities in Lao PDR lack reliable legal support. We help strengthen legal aid and local dispute resolution services in underserved areas.
The Access to Justice program helps economically disadvantaged, rural, and vulnerable communities in Lao PDR access legal support and resolve disputes fairly.
With support from The McConnell Foundation, the program works with the Ministry of Justice and the Lao Bar Association to strengthen legal aid services, expand justice access, and improve village-level mediation.
APPROACH
The program’s distinctive approach connects formal legal institutions with community-based dispute resolution. By strengthening model legal aid offices, training justice officials and village mediators, and piloting land dispute mediation training, the program helps build a more broad-based and sustainable justice system rooted in national law and local practice.
Impact
More than 5,000 citizens from disadvantaged communities accessed free legal assistance between 2019 and 2024 on issues including land disputes, family law matters, and sexual or domestic violence.
The program trained 282 justice officials as trainers and supported updated village mediation manuals to improve local dispute resolution.
The program contributed to the Legal Aid Decree in 2018 and the Village Dispute Mediation Decree in 2021, strengthening the legal framework for legal aid and community mediation in Lao PDR.
