Comparative studies on access to justice for 'vulnerable families' from a perspective of intermediaries' suppor: Japan, Britain and Canada

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26380004
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Fundamental law
• Research Institution: Niigata University
• Principal Investigator: TAMAKI Teiko 新潟大学, 人文社会・教育科学系, 教授 (80251784)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: vulnerability / 社会的弱者 / 司法アクセス / 性的マイノリティ / 仲介者 / 複合的要因

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Who can be categorized as 'most vulnerable' to access to justice? I have explored the question primarily by seeking what kind of factors may constitute a person as vulnerable. Contrary to apparent factors such as mental and physical capacities, age, economic circumstance which make people as noticeably vulnerable, there are some people with invisible vulnerability such as LGBT people. It is because their vulnerability may not be necessarily measured within current social and legal framework, they remain invisible and their difficulties in access to justice is not shared in Japan due to general lacking of their social and legal recognition.
There is not a single factor but multiple, combined and complex factors which may construct a person as being 'vulnerable'. It is also found commonly that various kinds of "intermediaries" who go between such vulnerable people and legal professionals may function efficiently in promoting access to justice.

Free Research Field

法社会学