The Promise and Peril of Using ICTs to Advance the Rule of Law and Access to Justice

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  • Presentation speakers
    • Rebecca Vernon, Affiliated Researcher, Cornell eRulemaking Initiative, Cornell Law School

  Video (starts at 35:20)

  Around the world, information and computer technologies (ICTs) are being used to advance development in areas such as health, education, and poverty alleviation.  While the legal and judicial sectors have been slower to catch onto this emerging trend, they are beginning to experiment with these new tools to advance the rule of law and provide greater access to justice.  Certainly, the potential of this new approach to reform legal systems to serve the greater good and advance democratic and economic development is enormous; nonetheless, we must approach these new enterprises with meticulous forethought to maximize their promise.  Focusing primarily on web-based initiatives, this presentation will highlight some methods and mechanisms that have been most successful across the globe and demonstrate key considerations and concerns that must be built into project design and implementation to provide the greatest chance of success.