As a society, we have a great deal of experience in mobilizing communities for improving lakes and schools, stopping deforestation, advocating for privacy rights, and much more. Yet, when it comes to our justice delivery system, most hope for nothing more than an average lawyer.

Change must happen bottom up and be driven by the voices of people. People feel powerless and alone while navigating the court system, because unlike the legislative and executive branches of our government, the judiciary is not structurally designed to listen to or engage with citizens and changemakers, even on administrative matters.

We struggle to find accessible entry points to engage, and improve access, empathy or efficiencies in the system. The mystification of the legal and judicial sector, and the perception that one needs to be an ‘expert’ also act as barriers to attracting civic participation.

There is, however, a huge opportunity to improve the judicial system by attracting and enhancing civic participation. This is key if we want our solutions to be relevant to the ‘felt need’ in society.

Some of the initiatives that have helped create new frameworks for citizens to engage in our legal systems can be useful to help us understand what roads we must take.

Read the full article about civic engagement in the justice system by Keerthana Medarametla and Supriya Sankaran at India Development Review.