[{"bbox": [93, 152, 1164, 236], "category": "Text", "text": "The following main lessons learnt from previous actions implemented by EU, in particular EPJUST II, GOJUST I and GOJUST II, recent multi-stakeholder consultations and global policy recommendations, have been taken into consideration:"}, {"bbox": [131, 256, 1164, 310], "category": "List-item", "text": "* A growing body of evidence demonstrates that expenditure on people-centred justice can deliver a high return on investment.²⁰"}, {"bbox": [131, 323, 1164, 458], "category": "List-item", "text": "* The Study on Access to Justice in the Philippines, and the Survey on Justice Needs carried out by GOJUST II in 2021, confirmed that Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms, and in particular the Barangay Justice System, are the instance first approached by the people of the Philippines when facing a conflict, because of ease and trust. Improving knowledge and sensitivity of members of this mediation mechanism is therefore crucial to ensure access to justice for people living in vulnerable situations."}, {"bbox": [131, 470, 1164, 553], "category": "List-item", "text": "* The Study also recommended incorporating the Barangay Justice system and Barangay Lupon or conciliation personnel into the EU's GOJUST program and in Justice Zone coordination at both JSCC and Justice Zone levels, either by direct participation or by directing programs to their benefit."}, {"bbox": [131, 564, 1164, 751], "category": "List-item", "text": "* Justice Needs Survey respondents in the Justice Zones showed a more positive response with respect to issue resolution and satisfaction, vis-à-vis the national average. The qualitative Study on Access to Justice showed that trust in the justice sector within a Justice Zone also increased in people living in vulnerable situations (urban poor, farmer/fisherfolk and upland communities, indigenous peoples, women, LGTBQ, people living with disabilities, and the youth), possibly evidencing the positive impact of the targeted access to justice interventions of GOJUST II, and maybe even a stronger awareness/sensitivity by justice sector operators in the JZs. These are initial indications of the relevance of this localisation approach."}, {"bbox": [131, 764, 1164, 1031], "category": "List-item", "text": "* The Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) study commissioned by GOJUST II brings up the issue of the need to move towards a rights-based approach to justice (as opposed to a needs-based or reactive approach) in justice reform, in particular by engaging other actors such as other institutions (such as the Commission on Human Rights Regional Offices), civil society, academe and alternative law groups in justice sector coordination. The experience through GOJUST II is that civil society participation in the Justice Zones was not expected by actors from the formal justice sector, but the programme has gradually been able to bridge that gap through the grant component, which gave CSOs resources to tackle specific access issues. This, in turn, mean that JZs actors were interested in engaging with to deliver better results (i.e. clinical legal education programmes that supported jail decongestion through examining records of inmates and identifying those overstaying)."}, {"bbox": [131, 1043, 1164, 1231], "category": "List-item", "text": "* Sector-wide approach requires strategically positioned interventions, rather than involving all the stakeholders in implementation. The design of the EPJUST II Programme was overambitious. Under the sector-wide strategy, it attempted to address various needs of over a dozen stakeholders. The results, assessed one and half years after the completion of the Programme, demonstrate that only the strategically positioned interventions can generate a significant impact, such as the Justice Zone supported by the JSCC, which embraced key pillars in the criminal justice system. In contrast, the fragmented support offered to many individual agencies only resolved their short-term needs without generating lasting impact."}, {"bbox": [131, 1243, 1164, 1352], "category": "List-item", "text": "* A systems approach supports strategic prioritisation and integration. The GOJUST and GOJUST II actions have been a targeted effort, with a relatively modest budget and delivering strong results. It has focused on creating platforms for coordination and problem-solving at national as well at the local level and thus should be further supported."}, {"bbox": [85, 1620, 1121, 1647], "category": "Footnote", "text": "²⁰ Task Force on Justice, Justice for All – Policy Recommendations (New York: Center on International Cooperation, 2019)."}, {"bbox": [85, 1681, 204, 1707], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 18 of 32"}]