From Formal Access to True Accessibility:
Innovating in Law Through Engagement with Litigants

---

 

In a world where access to justice occupies a central place in institutional discourse, it is important to distinguish between formal access to the system and true accessibility. The question is not merely whether a remedy is available, but whether the litigant can understand it, use it, and navigate the system effectively. Yet the ability to participate fully in the justice system is not a privilege; it is a democratic necessity.^[1] When a system remains too complex, too opaque, or too distant, it not only becomes less effective: it risks eroding public trust, which is essential to the legitimacy of the rule of law.^[2]

The obstacles are numerous and well-documented: impenetrable legal language,^[3] complex procedures, discouraging delays, geographical distance, and for many, the simple fact of not knowing where to start is already a barrier.^[4] In rural areas,^[5] the digital divide leaves behind those seeking justice who are least comfortable with online tools^[6]. A growing number of people find themselves unrepresented before a system they do not understand.^[7] For others, the obstacles are even more concrete—the lack of an access ramp, the inability to use an interpreter. It is this distinction, between formal access and true accessibility, that lies at the heart of the discussion that follows.

A People-Centered Justice System

The Quebec government is not indifferent to accessibility issues. The Ministry of Justice’s 2023–2027 Strategic Plan calls for reducing processing times, establishing community justice centers, and digitizing procedures via Lexius. While these reforms may have positive effects, they are driven more by a desire for optimization than by a commitment to fundamental transformation.

Other stakeholders, notably the Institut québécois de réforme du droit et de la justice (IQRDJ), offer a different vision: a profound transformation of legal culture. It is within this framework that the États généraux sur le droit et la justice,^[8] takes place: a large-scale collective initiative aimed at formulating reform proposals for a more humane and accessible justice system by inviting citizens, practitioners, and researchers to participate. Concrete initiatives, such as the “Juristes mobiles,” a project led by Info Justice^[9], are already bringing this vision to life on the ground. In this context, person-centred community justice serves as the approach, as the litigant is no longer a client to be served, but a co-creator of the solution to their problem. We are shifting from a vertical model to a horizontal one, where the law is shaped through dialogue with those it affects.^[10]

 

A Framework That Limits the Potential of Initiatives

Although promising projects are emerging, these initiatives operate within a professional context that is particularly restrictive in Quebec. The Quebec student legal community has far less leeway compared to its counterparts in other provinces, in which supervision by licensed attorneys allows for a much broader scope of practice. Until recently, lawyers working in a non-profit organization faced restrictions unknown elsewhere in the country, and while some relaxations have been introduced, the framework remains more restrictive. Paralegals, for their part, are not formally recognized.

Although this framework ensures quality and professional protection, it heightens barriers to access and hinders initiatives that would benefit from an expansion of authorized competencies. What experience on the ground demonstrates is that when these services exist and reach those in need of legal assistance, their impact is real and tangible. This is precisely what my journey this year—between my internship at CIAJ and my involvement with the Université de Montréal Legal Clinic—has allowed me to observe.

 

The Legal Clinic: Learning Through Interaction with Litigants

At the Clinic, I discovered that legal work with litigants begins with transforming lived experience to a legal issue, without losing sight of the social, financial, and personal realities of the individual involved. This is a task that litigants cannot always accomplish on their own. In some cases, legal action is not the best solution or is simply not realistic. We look for another approach: reducing their debt to qualify for the Small Claims Division, encouraging negotiation, or proposing mediation. Mediation, in fact, is a valuable tool, as it allows the client to participate directly in developing their own solution.

Furthermore, legal advice is not an end in itself. What matters is that the individual leaves with a clear understanding of their situation and a concrete idea of their options. Plain language is essential here: explaining things in simple terms without compromising legal rigour, so that the individual leaves feeling confident and empowered. An accessible justice system is not just one that is within reach; it is one that people can actually use.

 

A Mobile Clinic on the North Shore

In March 2026, I took part in a mobile clinic on the North Shore. This experience taught me that simply travelling to a region isn’t enough to make a meaningful impact. Beyond geographical distance, it is the community’s social and cultural reality that redefines what constitutes a relevant intervention.

Rather than waiting for residents in an office, we went out to meet them, such as to senior living facilities and shopping centers. It was during these sessions that the presence of an Info Justice lawyer from Sept-Îles proved invaluable: his knowledge of the community and local resources allowed us to provide people with concrete, tailored guidance. He also enlightened us on the realities of the region’s Indigenous communities—their governance structures, their right to self-determination, and the authority of band councils. These realities demand that solutions be developed through dialogue, not simply imposed.

The need for flexibility is self-evident in rural areas. Take, for example, parents with shared custody living in two communities connected only by roads passable in winter: standard solutions simply do not apply. The law must adapt to geography, community structures, and lived realities. This is where community-based justice, rooted in people’s realities to build a response, takes on its full meaning.

 

Conclusion

These experiences raise a question: To what extent does the current legal framework support these initiatives?

The two visions of community justice are not incompatible. Modernizing procedures and digitizing services are useful steps forward, but they are not sufficient on their own. Innovation in law is also based on real-world experience, on a learning process in which the realities encountered transform practices by valuing the lived expertise of litigants.^[11]

What must unite these approaches is a vision of the law aligned with today’s society—one in which a litigant is not a passive user, but an active participant capable of understanding their situation and taking action—provided they are truly given the means to do so. Access to justice is not measured by the existence of a remedy, but by the citizen’s actual ability to understand it, to make use of it, and to derive something useful from it.

 

---

^[1] L’Institut québécois de réforme du droit et de la justice, “L’Institut québécois de réforme du droit et de la justice lance les États généraux”, PR Newswire (November 18, 2025), online: <newswire.ca/fr/news-releases/l-institut-quebecois-de-reforme-du-droit-et-de-la-justice-lance-les-etats-generaux-816984703.html>.
^[2] Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens and Dia Dabby, “Chapitre II – Le contexte social du droit dans le Québec contemporain” in Collection de droit 2025-2026: Éthique, déontologie et pratique professionnelle, vol 1  (Montreal: CAIJ, 2025) at 387.
^[3] Québec, Ministère de la Justice, Plan stratégique 2023-2027 (Québec, QC: MJQ, 2023) online (pdf): <https://cdn-contenu.quebec.ca/cdn-contenu/adm/min/justice/publications-adm/plan-strategique/PL_strat_2023-2027_MJQ.pdf>.
^[4] Ibid
^[5] Québec, supra note 3
^[6] Catherine Paradis, “La justice sur le pas de la porte grâce au projet de juristes mobiles”, Radio-Canada, (3 May 2026), online: <ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2250359/avocat-domicile-aide-juridique-notaires>.
^[7] Emmanuelle Bernheim, “Les droits et la justice au guichet : perspectives du personnel judiciaire québécois sur l’accès à la justice des justiciables non représenté·es” (2024) 69:1 RD McGill 1.
^[8] Institut québécois de réforme du droit et de la justice (IQRDJ), “États généraux sur le droit et la justice” (2025), online: <iqrdj.ca/etats-generaux/>.
^[9] Bernheim supra note 7.
^[10] Québec, supra note 3 at367.
^[11] Québec, supra note 3.

 

---

Justice Without Barriers Series To mark the 2026 National AccessAbility Week, the Justice Without Barriers Series brings together podcasts, blogs, and other contents to highlight the initiatives, innovations, and people who are transforming justice in Canada—from plain language to technology, from personal experiences to best practices. Content: Podcast (in english) | Justice Without Barriers Series — Disability, Accessibility, and the Courts Podcast (in French) | Justice Without Barriers Series — Plain language: A key to accessibility Blog | Justice Without Barriers Series — From Formal Access to True Accessibility: Innovating in Law Through Engagement with Litigants

 

About the author