People-Centered Justice in Practice: Lessons from Chile and Sri Lanka

This webinar will serve as the public launch and discussion platform for the forthcoming Chile and Sri Lanka case studies, led by consultants Ester Valenzuela and Tim Millar, and supported by Laura Ospina, Senior Program Officer and Nate Edwards, Program Officer from the Justice for All program at Pathfinders. The webinar seeks to offer participants an opportunity to explore two distinct yet complementary models of people-centered justice, share best practices, lessons learned, and considerations for cross-regional application. These models include:

• Sri Lanka: A nationwide system of Community Mediation Boards that provide accessible, locally rooted, and low-cost dispute resolution. The model demonstrates how community-based mechanisms that are people-centered can reduce court backlogs, resolve everyday conflicts fairly, and strengthen trust in justice processes.
• Chile: A pioneering, child- and adolescent-centered justice model that ensures children and adolescents can effectively access justice through specialized legal defense and representation, tailored procedures, and an explicit focus on the best interests of the child. The model positions Chile as a regional leader in rights-based, people-centered justice for children and young people.

While grounded in very different contexts, and with very different ambitions, both case studies illustrate how justice systems can be structured to meet people where they are, culturally, geographically, and institutionally, while strengthening fairness, inclusion, and legitimacy.

Objectives

The webinar aims to:

1. Present key insights and findings from the forthcoming Chile and Sri Lanka country case studies, highlighting what makes these models effective and people-centered.
2. Facilitate dialogue among policymakers, practitioners, civil society actors, and international partners on how to operationalize people-centered justice principles at scale.
3. Contribute to global learning and advocacy around SDG16.3 (equal access to justice for all) by demonstrating concrete pathways to improving access to justice for all. pathways to improving access to justice for all.