Belgrade, 29 September 2023 – The United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is launching a new, 5-year, rule of law project to help people more easily resolve their legal issues. The “Justice for All” project will work in partnership with relevant government institutions and individual courts to assist them become more people-centered by adopting more user-friendly policies, procedures, and everyday practices. At the same time, the project will work with a wide range of partners to raise the general public’s understanding of their legal rights and responsibilities.
The Project will also seek to improve people’s experiences and outcomes when accessing justice. It will reinforce trust between the justice providers and users, empower proactive voices to drive positive change, and enhance respect and neutrality on the part of justice office holders.
The project aims to:
1) Increase the legal literacy and empowerment of the general public.
2) Improve people’s experiences and outcomes when accessing and interacting with justice services.
3) Strengthen the justice system by making it more people centered.
Justice for All will partner with the government institutions mandated to guarantee the rule of law and ensure equal access to justice, such as the Ministry of Justice, individual courts and prosecutor offices, the Ministry of Public Administration, and free legal aid offices of municipal governments.
In addition, the project will partner with the legal community, relevant professional associations, law schools, and civil society, civic action groups, and the private sector, while also directly engaging justice seekers and the public at the community level.
The project will improve people’s knowledge of the law and how to use it in their daily lives while also supporting open justice initiatives that facilitate inclusive public engagement in and oversight of justice processes. It will improve the quality of and access to justice and related services from the perspective of the user. Also, it will facilitate greater coherence, communication, and coordination between justice institutions, actors, and processes and their effectiveness in identifying and solving people’s legal problems and satisfying their justice needs, including the problems and needs of survivors of gender-based violence.
“We’re looking forward to partnering with legal system providers and users to help Serbia continue its important work to build a more people-centered system of justice,” said Brooke Isham, USAID Serbia Mission Director.
