From MicroJustice

=Executive Summary= The purpose of the Microjustice Project Bolivia is to develop the method of microjustie in practice, so that Microjustice can be spread to other places where poor people have difficulties to access their rights. The development of a handbook is therefore an important part of the project. Contacts have already been established in number of countries where governments (Peru and Rwanda) and organizations (Ecuador, West Africa, India) have expressed their interest in the development of Microjustice. The Pilot Project in Bolivia is the first and only microjustice project in the world, which started early 2007 to develop the tools and instruments of microjustice in practice. The pilot phase has had such a success that the local partners in Bolivia have asked to open more microjustice facilitator’s offices. The 2nd project starting on 1 March 2008 will focus on enlarged implementation of the microjustice program: 1. Developing more pilot products. So far have been developed civil documentation and property registration. Additional products will contain products to fulfill various basic substance needs: inheritance issues, child allowance 2. That will be available on a pilot website with norms and processes that are transparent to clients and facilitators (www.microjusticiabolivia.org) 3. Developing a pilot network of Microjustice Facilitators, with 5 outlets in La Paz, El Alto and Achacachi, including training program for the facilitators. Legal services will be provided: legal orientation, legal assistance and arranging the problems for the clients. 4. Central office will investigate and develop new products and update the webpage, develop the microjustice facilitators program and training program. The office will realize economies of scale by developing relationships with the relevant instances and solving a large number of cases from the field and one time. In addition, all other activities are undertaken from here: diffusion, PR, network building, IT Webpage development. 5. Bottom of Pyramid Laboratory of the University of Tilburg will investigate in the local communities the local structures and support base for microjustice, they will do market research into the needs and preparedness to pay for the services, determine an accessible price for the services and identify the mechanisms of the distribution system by the microjustice facilitators in the local communities. 6. Developing a handbook that documents the process of setting up a Microjustice program, lists the experiences during the product development, that will be a building block for a Microjustice Program template. The handbook will be the basis to spread microjustice in Bolivia and to other countries.

Contents 1 Context 2 Goals /objectives 3 Deliverables /Results /Impact 4 Measuring the Impact 5 Activities

[edit] Context

The poor finally have rights For the lower social classes, access to rights is very difficult. This has various reasons: lack of knowledge and know-how, bureaucratic obstacles, distance to the institutions, culture of non-formal existence etc. The current government has the political will to break with this tradition of exclusion and to transform the legal system so that poor people have access to their rights. Added Value Microjustice model developed means offering real access to rights as an alternative and complementary to the formal legal system. This is essential for developing microjustice in other parts of the world. The Government of Bolivia intends to provide real access to justice for the poor. The microjustice program fits very well in the policy of making justice accessible and affordable for the lower social classes, guaranteeing real justice and respect of basic human rights.

[edit] Goals /objectives

• Develop microjustice in practice in the field to serve as input for research and further microjustice program development
• Develop the method for setting up microjustice programs in other countries, to develop the working method & and training programs for microjustice facilitators, to establish the modalities of implementing microjustice in practice.
• Include the lower social classes in the system by alleviating obstacles to justice;
• Offer an alternative to and ameliorate the formal legal system;
• Set an example for other countries that face similar challenges.

Target groups Description in general: poor and especially women and children More especially: In El Alto and Achacachi description – See annex 1

[edit] Deliverables /Results /Impact

In practice the modalities of microjustice developed: 1) Microjustice products in registration issues (civil documentation, property registration and protection, micro businesses, etc) and in conflictive issues (child support, family issues, inheritance issues, consumers’ protection etc). 2) Model developed for setting up microjustice programs in the field 3) Microjustice webpage with practical legal information about accessing basic rights and offering affordable legal services; 4) Microjustice distribution network developed 5) Microjustice facilitators program: who are the facilitators, incentive system, certification and supervision, Operational mechanism of microjustice facilitators (payment mechanism) and coaching/guidance by lawyers in the central 6) Template microjustice program – best practices handbook

[edit] Measuring the Impact

On an annual basis the impact in numbers: Population in target communities El Alto 800.000 Achacachi: 85.000 Target group in El Alto: 500.000 and 60.000 in Achacachi (poorest people) - Self-help over webpage: 50.000 - In 3-4 microjustice offices consults: 15.000 - 5-10 % consults will lead to arranging the cases for the people: 1000 cases arranged - Microjustice facilitators trained in these microjustice offices: 20, of which 7 will become trainers/supervisors

Multiplier effect: Obtaining a solution means normally an advantage for the entire family The people who came for a consult or consulted the webpage, will share their experience with their larger friends and family, who now also know how to arrange their basic rights.

through diffusion in the media and public campaigns, a large part of the target community will have heard about microjustice 

Handbook developed on the basis of the experience to do it in other provinces and countries

The effect of the help is that people become integrated in and protected by the system and that they have access to basic subsistence needs and are enabled to undertake an economic activity.

=Strategy/ Method / Program implementation =

1. Have a local Bolivian team working together with the international team of the Microjustice Initiative
2. Develop the program in the La Paz province, to be replicated in a 2nd phase to other provinces and cross-border to the province of Puno/Peru on the other side of the border at the Titicaca Lake.
3. Conduct research on procedures serving basic legal needs;
4. Develop a website;
5. Craft partnership for distribution;
6. Establish cooperation with local authorities in all relevant fields;
7. Establish cooperation with other parties (universities, ngo’s);
8. Develop training program for microjustice facilitators;
9. Draft a first version of a best practices handbook
10. distribute the method

[edit] Activities

Microjustice is based on 3 pilars of activities: 1) Web-page which includes a comprehensive and practical description of basic legal needs of people and the legal instruments – steps to access these rights, but also a critical analysis of the procedures in order to stimulate a bottom-up rule of law reform. The microjustice products are offered on the webpage. 2) Microjustice Facilitators program – guarantees the distribution in the entire country. Mechanism of payments is developed so that the program can be auto-sustainable 3) Central office with the following functions: - investigation for product development - website design & development - developing distribution network for microjustice facilitators - select, train and supervise the microjustice facilitators - legal back-up to microjustice facilitators - developing PR and communication strategy - resolve legal issues, using an economy of scale - network with relevant instances and organizations - resolve legal obstacles by further investigation and analysis of the performance of legal procedures and network with relevant instances and organizations - financial administration and reporting to the MJI - Keeping database of cases updated Status: Completion first phase Pilot project 2007/early 2008 • ILA has started the Microjustice Program Bolivia early 2007; large parts of the program have already been developed: • Head office in La Paz and field office in El Alto in a micro finance bank (FIE) • Investigation in the basic themes (documentation, property registration, etc) and first microjustice products in these areas developed • Webpage with the procedures for accessing basic rights (www.microjusticiabolivia.org ) • 1300 people helped in 1 field office in microfinance bank period August-December 2007 • PR in ferias with stands, folders, posters etc • network developed with the relevant authorities, legal experts and NGOs • Legal status of the foundation is being processed • Since early 2008 opening of new microjustice offices in an additional branche of the FIE Bank in El Alto and in the municipal offices in Achacachi • Preparation distribution network and microjustice facilitators program • Next challenges are:  To set up microjustice in line with the BoP Protocol  Develop effective and affordable microjustice products in all basic needs  Distribution network over the country;  Setting up the system of microjustice facilitators throughout the coutry;  Developing the mechanism of cooperation between the various levels  Setting the prices and develop a payment mechanism. Steps Timeframe Results 2008/2009 1st period of project • Development of new microjustice products: • 2nd version of the website • Start pilot microjustice facilitators program • Prepare a microjustice facilitators’ training program • Work in more branch offices of the microfinance bank FIE • Develop the work in cooperation with municipal offices • Preparing manual (country template) • First pilot activities developed in other provinces and Puno (Peru) 2nd part of the project • Cover more places in La Paz provinces • On the basis of the manual, develop microjustice in other provinces of Bolivia (Santa Cruz, Oruro) • On basis of manual develop microjustice on a cross-border way including Peru (Puno, and after other places) and start developing in other countries Steps Timeframe Results 20 • Microjustice as a country-wide program for access to rights for all • Cross-border microjustice program with Puno (Titicaca Lake) as base in Peru • On the basis of the Handbook, distribution of the experience to help others to develop microjustice in other parts of the world

Project Needs/Needed resources (human, financial) • Budget: (see annex 2)

• International microjustice expertise • Local legal expertise; • Local IT expertise; • Offices, computing, communication; • International and local transportation; • material for PR and communication campaign; • facilities and material for training program; Challenges • A strong tradition of formality and bureaucracy; • Limited internet coverage; • Protective and conservative legal profession. Coordination and Reporting Reporting • Weekly reports by the Bolivia Central Office • All reports and communication on Wikipedia • Database • Reports on request of the donors

Coordination and Management • Microjusticia Bolivia is a flat organization, which is managed by a coordination team: 1) coordinator development 2) coordinator investigation and legal assistance 3) coordinator IT / Administrator, and one team for each of the activities (the same person is sometimes member of more than one team) • ILA is in permanent contact with the coordination team: present more than half the time, through many special reports/documents and Weekly reports by the Bolivia Central Office. When ILA is not in La Paz, permanent contact over the Skype • University of Tilburg (Law Faculty, Bottom of the Pyramid Laboratory, etc) and other experts involved in the Microjustice Initiative in The Netherlands and Spain, in permanent contact, facilitated by ILA, through Wikipedia, e-mail, Skype, visits, reports

Continuity & sustainability • The purpose of the microjustice project is: spreading it in the entire country and auto-sustainability through the economies of scale and the solidarity principle (paying a fee for the services which also could cover the central costs, involving the local authorities, microfinance banks, legal experts). Donations are needed to develop the system and to cover the costs of the central office in the mid-long term. The Microjustice Program has as objective to become part of the Bolivian legal service sector.