HiiL Justice Innovation Labs

The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) pursues globally user-friendly justice: an accessible, easily approachable, and effective legal system that centres on the needs of users.

HiiL’s Request

In many countries, there remains a ‘justice gap,’ where individuals with legal issues either see their problems resolved only partially or not at all. Particularly in rural areas, community justice, where the local community provides legal services, plays a crucial role in bridging this ‘justice gap.’

Through its Justice Innovation Labs, HiiL seeks to collaborate with local stakeholders and experts to develop innovative and sustainable designs for ‘community justice’ that can be scaled nationally and integrated with the formal justice system. In this context, HiiL has invited Social Finance NL to participate in multiple Justice Innovation Labs to develop a business case and a sustainable financial model for various initiatives.

The SFNL Approach

Social Finance NL is involved in the design sessions of the Justice Innovation Lab and is leading the development of the business and financing model. We are examining the feasibility of various financing structures, including outcome-based finance. Additionally, we are exploring opportunities for a governance structure for the initiatives and aim to establish a positive business case.

Result

With the Justice Innovation Labs, we are developing a funding proposal to implement the designed initiative across various countries. Using input from the design sessions, Social Finance NL is tasked with developing the business case and financing structure. We have already contributed to the establishment and execution of justice innovations in Uganda, Tunisia, Nigeria, and The Hague.

About the Collaboration

Borja Gutierrez (Fund Specialist at HiiL): “We have been collaborating with Social Finance NL since 2019, and our stakeholders highly appreciate their knowledge and expertise in financing for social impact. That’s why we approached them for the Justice Innovation Lab. With their extensive experience in innovative financing models, they provide a valuable contribution to the financially sustainable community justice initiative in Uganda.”

Maurits Barendrecht (Research Director at HiiL): “Social Finance helped us to develop a comprehensive model for all revenue and cost streams for community justice services in The Hague. Together, we are nearing a major breakthrough in financing courts and dispute resolution services in a way that ensures equal access to justice for all.”

See all our projects
Project HiiL Justice Innovation Labs
Year 2021 – 2022
Type Advisory, Research
Parties Social Finance NL
HiiL
Location Uganda, The Hague, Tunesia, Nigeria

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