NewJustice, Fairness and the Rule of Law

Dates

• 18 - 22 October 2027

About the workshop

The rule of law has never mattered more. We are living through unprecedented geopolitical shifts, and at such times strong rule-of-law systems are essential to good governance and stable democratic institutions. Stable democracies depend on the rule of law: without it, good systems of government, and democracies themselves, can collapse. Civil Service College has long supported jurisdictions and nations in strengthening the rule of law.

The rule of law is internationally recognised as a foundation of good governance, economic confidence and public trust. It is not an abstract concern for legal professionals alone. The rule of law shapes how institutions earn public trust, how rights are protected, how disputes are resolved and how confidently people and organisations can plan, invest and do business. When legal safeguards and independent institutions weaken, governance becomes less predictable, access to justice narrows and democratic systems become more vulnerable. The rule of law is under growing pressure from political challenges to judicial independence, strained public budgets, court backlogs and rapid technological change, including the arrival of artificial intelligence in courts and legal practice.

This five-day workshop will explore practical ways to strengthen the rule of law and access to justice. It will consider how judicial systems can remain fair, independent and effective despite financial pressure, technological change, geopolitical instability and crises. Participants will identify practical, sustainable reforms for their own jurisdictions.

Who is the workshop for?

This workshop is designed mainly for lawyers, judges, legal administrators and representatives from non-government organisations and funding agencies with an interest in the judicial sector. Participants will learn from each other as well as from expert speakers, and will join a network of peers facing similar challenges across different jurisdictions.

How participants will benefit

 The workshop will:

• Give you an up-to-date picture of the meaning and significance of the rule of law in a shifting geopolitical landscape, and the pressures it faces today

• Offer an honest account of recent initiatives to modernise the management and delivery of justice in England and Wales, including digitisation, court backlogs and legal aid, so you can learn from what worked and avoid what didn’t

• Equip you to understand and respond to the opportunities and risks of AI and technology in justice

• Explore practical ways of protecting judicial independence and responding to current challenges such as SLAPPs and climate litigation

• Introduce people-centred approaches and tools for designing, measuring and evaluating reform to improve access to justice

• Support you to develop a tested, practical change project to enhance respect for the rule of law and access to justice on return to your own country.

What the workshop will cover

Before the workshop, you will prepare a short brief on the most pressing justice or rule-of-law problem in your jurisdiction.

The programme will include:

• Day 1: Why the rule of law matters more than ever. Geopolitical shifts and global trends affecting the rule of law and democratic institutions, and short presentations from participants on the problems they face.

• Day 2: Lessons from England and Wales. How courts and tribunals, the Ministry of Justice and its executive agencies, the legal aid system and the legal professions relate to one another, and the successes and failures of recent reform, with visits to relevant institutions.

• Day 3: AI and technology in justice. The use of AI in courts and legal practice, judicial guidance, and the risks of relying on technology, including lessons from the Post Office Horizon scandal.

• Day 4: Judicial independence and current challenges. Case studies on political pressure on the judiciary and emerging issues,

• Day 5: Priorities and next steps. A facilitated closing discussion will identify the most important insights from the week and a small number of practical priorities for participants to take forward. The key points will be captured and shared after the workshop.

Throughout the week, sessions will ask what each issue means for the people who use justice systems and how progress can be measured.