This project is an outgrowth of earlier efforts by the World Bank to modernize the Peruvian justice system by reducing processing times for cases, increasing access to legal counsel through ALEGRAs (legal aid centers), and allowing persons to access their cases online.
The objective of the project is to improve the efficiency, access and transparency of and user satisfaction with the delivery of non-criminal justice services. The indicators for these goals are:
BIC, along with our partner Sociedad y Discapacidad (SODIS PERU) identified the following concerns:
Currently, the justice system in Peru is difficult to access for persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups, and consequently, this must be taken into account throughout the planning and execution of this Project. If the Project is designed to improve access to the justice system for all its users, it must address the additional barriers to doing so faced by persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups. These barriers include, but are not limited to; physical accessibility of justice buildings and ALEGRA offices; language barriers for Indigenous Peoples and persons with hearing impairment; and a lack of legal literacy among marginalized groups.
Electronic records are not accessible to persons with disabilities. Records must be accessible to persons with disabilities in a manner that the electronic record keeping system refers to disabilities issues.
SODIS Peru has been in touch with the Bank staff involved in the project. The project will be incorporating a new engineer to the project for the construction of the ALEGRAs. SODIS has been able to provide input to the position’s terms of reference so that the engineer takes into account universal accessibility themes into the construction of the ALEGRAs.
The World Bank is financing $85 million out of a total project cost of $200 million.
