Abstract
AbstractDespite its importance for poverty reduction, the poor face barriers when accessing justice. However, the literature, looking mostly at developed countries, focuses on the institutional underpinnings of these restrictions, and thus ignores social structural barriers. This paper deals with one type of social barrier; clientelism and its impact on poor clients’ access to justice. I argue that asymmetric power distribution enables patrons to bar clients from accessing formal institutions. Such barriers can’t be rectified through institutional reforms. Making use of an original dataset from Pakistan this paper recommends an unorthodox policy solution; increasing connectivity. I demonstrate how exit options, brought about through connectivity, alter bargaining powers, thereby limiting patrons’ ability to block clients from accessing formal justice institutions.
Highlights
Access to justice is a pressing issue in the poverty reduction debate
Empirical strategy The main question this paper aims to answer is: what role do asymmetry of power relations play in households’ access to formal dispute resolution bodies? The hypothesis tested is that clientelism creates barriers for accessing justice, by either restricting access or limiting demand
Access to justice is vital for improving the welfare of the poor and is included as one of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030
Summary
Access to justice is a pressing issue in the poverty reduction debate. The United Nations classifies it as one of its Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 and sees it as part of its wider aim of promoting a just, peaceful and inclusive society by building “effective, accountable and inclusive institutions” (UN SDG 16). The aim is to ‘legally empower’ the poor to assist them in pulling themselves out of poverty This idea gained so much traction that the UN established a Commission on Legal Empowerment of the poor, defining legal empowerment as: “the process of systemic change through which the poor are protected and enabled to use the law to advance their rights and their interests as citizens and economic actors” (pg 2, UNDP 2009).. This idea gained so much traction that the UN established a Commission on Legal Empowerment of the poor, defining legal empowerment as: “the process of systemic change through which the poor are protected and enabled to use the law to advance their rights and their interests as citizens and economic actors” (pg 2, UNDP 2009).1 It found 4 billion people around the world to be poor because they are excluded from the rule of law and stressed the importance of legally empowering these citizens to improve their welfare. While scholars have critiqued the claims of the Commission of Legal Empowerment (see e.g., Banik 2009) there is general agreement on the importance of access to justice, not just for promoting peace and for ameliorat-
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