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United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development

Access To Justice Project

(
Private sector
)
#SDGAction43284
Description
Description
Background of the Project: According to the World Justice Project 2018 Survey, only 20% of Filipinos were able to access legal help leaving 80% Filipinos without legal assistance. Worse, out of that 20%, 72% of them seek legal help from friends and families while 15% seek lawyer’s help and the rest from institutions. Access to justice is really difficult in the Philippines. In the UNDP survey, the common issues why Filipinos were not able tap access legal service are (a) its expensive; (b) its inconvenient due to traffic/distance; (c) no previous contact/access to lawyers; and (d) lack of time, among others. The people susceptible to these are OFWs (10.23M), PWDs (953K), SMEs (1M) and indigent clients. The inadequate number of lawyers likewise contributed to this complications because for every 2,200 Filipino citizens, there is only one Filipino lawyer to service for them. This is way below the optimum number of lawyer required in a society under the Magee Rule Curve, which is 1 lawyer for every 250 citizens. We believe that we can solve this problem by making legal service accessible to people, most especially, indigent clients, through an online platform for free. Through the use of technology and with the help of responsible corporate citizens like Globe Telecoms, Inc., we can provide a free online consultation platform. LexMeet, Inc. is a legal tech company in the Philippines would like to help indigent clients. With the Supreme Court En Banc issuing Administrative Matter No. 17-03-09-SC otherwise known as the Community Legal Aid Service Rule (“Rule”), we can have online lawyers who could give free legal advice to indigent clients, OFW and PWDs. For lawyers starting those who passed the 2017 Bar Examinations, admitted to the Philippine Bar and have signed the Roll of Attorneys for that particular year and onwards are now obliged to render one hundred twenty (120) hours of pro bono legal aid services to qualified parties. The Rule was promulgated to give meaning to the guarantee of access to adequate legal assistance under Article III, Section 11 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. In the said Rule, Pro Bono Legal Aid Services shall include the following: 1. Representation of qualified litigants; 2. Legal counselling, rendering assistance in contract negotiations and drafting of related legal documents; 3. Developmental Legal Assistance, consisting of rights awareness, capacity-building, and training in basic human rights, documentation, and affidavit-making, rendered in public interest cases, including legal assistance rendered by identified Public Interest Law Groups; 4. Legal services provided as part of employment in the judiciary, executive, or legislative branches of government; 5. Legal services provided to marginalized sectors and identities, such as but not limited to: (a) urban poor; (b) workers/laborers; (c) overseas foreign workers; (d) children in conflict with the law; and (e) persons involved in gender issues. Thus, by tapping technology, availability of pro bono lawyers and the support of responsible corporate citizens, we can help marginalised sectors of our society to get access to justice.
Expected Impact

This new and additional action will accelerate SDG implementation because there would now a safe, convenient and free access to legal consultation for indigent clients in the Philippines. If in 2018, only 20% of Filipinos were able to access legal help leaving 80% Filipinos without legal assistance, with this new action from LexMeet and Globe, we will be able to reduce the said percentage and approximate at least equal opportunity to access legal service for all.

Partners
Globe Telecoms, Inc. (Private SEctor), Integrated Bar of the Philippines (Intergovernmental organization), Supreme Court of the Philippines (Government)

Goal 16

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Goal 16

16.1

Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere

16.1.1
Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex and age
16.1.2
Conflict-related deaths per 100,000 population, by sex, age and cause
16.1.3

Proportion of population subjected to (a) physical violence, (b) psychological violence and (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months

16.1.4

Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live after dark

16.2

End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children

16.2.1

Proportion of children aged 1–17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month

16.2.2
Number of victims of human trafficking per 100,000 population, by sex, age and form of exploitation
16.2.3

Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18

16.3

Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all

16.3.1
Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms
16.3.2
Unsentenced detainees as a proportion of overall prison population
16.3.3

Proportion of the population who have experienced a dispute in the past two years and who accessed a formal or informal dispute resolution mechanism, by type of mechanism

16.4

By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime

16.4.1
Total value of inward and outward illicit financial flows (in current United States dollars)
16.4.2
Proportion of seized, found or surrendered arms whose illicit origin or context has been traced or established by a competent authority in line with international instruments

16.5

Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms

16.5.1
Proportion of persons who had at least one contact with a public official and who paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials, during the previous 12 months
16.5.2
Proportion of businesses that had at least one contact with a public official and that paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials during the previous 12 months

16.6

Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels

16.6.1
Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget, by sector (or by budget codes or similar)
16.6.2

Proportion of population satisfied with their last experience of public services

16.7

Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels

16.7.1

Proportions of positions in national and local institutions, including (a) the legislatures; (b) the public service; and (c) the judiciary, compared to national distributions, by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groups

16.7.2
Proportion of population who believe decision-making is inclusive and responsive, by sex, age, disability and population group

16.8

Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance

16.8.1

Proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizations

16.9

By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration

16.9.1
Proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority, by age

16.10

Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements

16.10.1
Number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture of journalists, associated media personnel, trade unionists and human rights advocates in the previous 12 months
16.10.2
Number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information

16.a

Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime

16.a.1
Existence of independent national human rights institutions in compliance with the Paris Principles

16.b

Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development

16.b.1
Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law
Name Description
LexMeet Online Platform for Pro Bono Lawyers and Indigent Clients
Financing (in USD)
100,000.00
In-kind contribution
Desktop Computers/Laptop
Other, please specify
Media Exposure
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Action Network
SDG Acceleration Actions
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Timeline
11 March 2019 (start date)
12 March 2020 (date of completion)
Entity
LexMeet, Inc.
SDGs
16
Region
  1. Asia and Pacific
Geographical coverage
Philippines
Other beneficiaries
None
More information
Countries
Philippines
Philippines
Contact Information

Marlon Valderama, CEO

attymarlon@lexmeet.com