Access to justice is a key pillar of the rule of law, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals under SDG16.

Information is essential to making this a reality, both for legal professionals who need it in order to be able to work, and for individual people who need it to understand their rights and how to enforce them.

Yet too often, there are barriers in place, linked to cost, complexity, and simply attitudes. To make a reality of access to justice, there is a need for proactive steps to ensure that everyone can access the information they need.

Libraries – both specialised law libraries and public libraries – can deliver this, individually, together, and in partnership with others. In doing so, they help make the bridge between people and law, and so help deliver on the SDGs.

Our new article, drawing on papers presented at past World Library and Information Congresses, draws on examples from around the world to make the case.

Download the article as a pdf.