(Re)Imagining Access to Justice through UX Design (Part 1)

*Image Credit: International Commission of Jurists (2024).

With the rapid pace of technological advancements in the 21st century, it is to be expected that critical social institutions will be impacted in some way or another. One such social institution is the justice system which continues to feel the impact of complex technological advancements in their varied permutations as well as, more recently, the paradigm-shifting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the “technological upheaval” it occasioned across the world some four (4) years ago.

On June 20, 2024, the Jamaica Gleaner reported that the Jamaican Government “…will be introducing technology to facilitate a paperless system throughout the country’s court network” (Jamaica Gleaner, ‘Court system to go paperless’ (June 20, 2024):< Court system to go paperless | News | Jamaica Gleaner (jamaica-gleaner.com)>). The project, which is slated to commence this fiscal year, was reported by the Jamaica Observer to be slated to cost the Government of Jamaica (GoJ) “…approximately US$5 million or the equivalent of J$780 million for software and training over the next two years.” (Alecia Dunkley-Willis, ‘$780-million price tag for courts to go paperless’ (Jamaica Observer, June 21, 2024): <$780-million price tag for courts to go paperless - Jamaica Observer>). The announcement of the GoJ’s intention to embark upon this “paperless system” project follows on its promise some seven (7) years ago to “replace the ailing court system with a modern court infrastructure in two years” (Jamaica Gleaner, ‘Chuck promises modern court infrastructure in two years’ (November 22, 2017): <Chuck promises modern court infrastructure in two years | News | Jamaica Gleaner (jamaica-gleaner.com)>). More recently, the GoJ expressed an intention to “roll out more virtual services in the administration of justice across the island…” given that “…broadband Internet connectivity [had] improved significantly” by that time (Jamaica Gleaner, ‘Justice Ministry to roll out more virtual court services’ (March 4, 2022): <Justice Ministry to roll out more virtual court services | News | Jamaica Gleaner (jamaica-gleaner.com)>).

In light of Jamaica’s interesting experiment with virtual court service delivery, which has assumed effective permanence within the justice system since the unexpected arrival of COVID-19 in 2020, the impending execution of the paperless court system project is not surprising. Still, there is a need to simultaneously optimize and enhance the usability of the Jamaican court system, particularly by self-represented litigants, so that the interactive user experience with the system is improved thereby incrementally inspiring greater levels of public trust and confidence in the justice system. Within this context, the necessity of a user-centered design approach cannot be overstated.

What is UX Design?

UX design refers to ‘the process of creating products or services that provide meaningful experiences for users, involving many different areas of product development including branding, usability, function, and design.’ As a substratum of User-Centred Design (UCD), UX design focuses specifically on improving the interactive experience of users with a product or service. (See Columbia Engineering-The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, ‘What is UX Design? Differences Between UX and UI Design’: <What is UX Design? Differences Between UX and UI Design | Columbia Engineering Boot Camps>).

Much unlike Human-Centred Design (HCD), UX design has a “very limited scope”. Quite significantly, ‘[h]uman-centered design focuses on making interfaces open and accessible for everyone. And the UX goal is to make a certain app/website work flawlessly for those who use it. The HCD focuses on people in general. The UX — on [target] users.’ By and large, the UX design process is concerned with ensuring that a product or service is “as convenient as possible, easy to learn and to use.” (See Kostya Stepanov, ‘Human-Centered Design: What It Is And How Is It Different From Other Design Approaches’ (December 27, 2021), UX Planet: <Human-Centered Design: What It Is And How Is It Different From Other Design Approaches | by Kostya Stepanov | UX Planet>).

The five (5) major stages of the UX design process are as follows: 1. Empathise-Research; 2. Define-Problem Statement and Asking Questions; 3. Ideate-Brainstorming; 4. Prototype-Designing and Creating; and 5. Test-Test for Iterations (Ben Risinger, ‘5 steps of the UX design process to practice’ (September 11, 2020), UX Collective). Although the tasks performed by UX designers at each stage of the process help to improve the user’s interactive experience with a product or service, the work done at the “empathetic” and iterative stages of the UX design process is particularly consequential since that work enables designers to empathise with users by taking into account their unique needs and pain points. At those stages, the goal is to understand the challenges that users encounter when interacting with a product or service. The end goal of the work done at the relevant stages is to improve the user’s interactive experience with the product or service in question. This is principally achieved by further refining design solutions based on feedback, testing, and evaluation (UX4Sight, ‘Iteration in UX: Enhance Iterative Development in UX Design (August 30, 2024): <Iteration in UX: Enhance Iterative Development in UX Design (ux4sight.com)>). UX Design is therefore a rather potent tool for enhancing the nature and satisfaction of a user’s experience with a particular product or service.

Access to Justice

Unsurprisingly, the connections between UX Design and access to justice are now being explored with increasing interest. Notably, user-centred design thinking has been adopted by the Court of Justice in Thailand to improve and make its judicial system more user-friendly, and accessible. A major aim of this exercise in systemic reform is to create a responsive and inclusive judicial system that ultimately serves the needs of all stakeholders. The importance of focusing on how UX Design can enhance access to justice should be emphasized. Indeed, among other things, an effectively functioning and accessible court system, which inspires public confidence, promotes sustainable development since “[c]onfidence in the judiciary ultimately affects confidence in the economy, influencing investment and consumption decisions made by companies and individuals…” (Singapore University of Social Sciences, “Facilitating Singapore’s Success: The Legal System” (February 24, 2022): <Facilitating Singapore’s Success: The Legal System | SUSS>).

Part 2 of this article will examine how UX Design can enhance access to justice.