Building a fair future for all
Discover how JUSTICE has championed reform and shaped the landscape of justice in the UK.
Transforming the legal landscape for almost seven decades
Over our 68-year history we have transformed the UK’s legal sytem for the better, led by evidence, expertise, and a focus on practical solutions.
1957
Founded
18
Staff members
800
Attendees at JUSTICE events last year
100%
2024 success rate: permission to intervene in key legal cases.
Our mission
We strive for a fair UK justice system within everyone’s reach. Our work targets the justice issues that most deeply shape people’s lives.
We advocate for better laws, policies, and practices, and we challenge developments that threaten people’s rights or their equality before the law.
A fair justice system strengthens democracy, builds trust, and enables all of us to thrive.
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Strategic goals
Our goals – and why they matter
Protect the Rule of Law
So everyone is equal before the law, people can use their rights, and justice is accessible to all.
Challenge Discrimination and Inequality
So no one is treated unfairly in the justice system because of their race, wealth, or age.
Build a People-Centred Justice System
So justice is delivered fairly, efficiently, and based on reliable data.
Increase Public Understanding of the justice system
So everyone knows their rights and works together to protect them.
How JUSTICE makes change happen
Leading research
Our research highlights key problems and proposes practical solutions, hundreds of which have been adopted.
Advising policymakers
JUSTICE’s strong reputation across Westminster and beyond is based on the quality and independence of its work.
Convening experts
Our events, working parties, and roundtables bring together leading experts across a wide range of justice topics.
Building understanding
Our spokespeople regularly appear in the media to set out why a fair justice system matters and how it can be achieved.
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Governance and membership
A registered charity, we are a cross-party membership organisation with members from students to senior judges. We are committed to ensuring the law is within everyone’s reach and applies to us all equally and fairly. We welcome all who support our purpose.
JUSTICE’s work is overseen by its members via a Council. Our council is currently headed by Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws KC LT, with Vice-presidents Dominic Grieve KC and Baroness Sarah Ludford.
We work closely with our members and other stakeholders in all our work. Our considerable convening power enables us to produce high quality, evidence-based research that reflects the reality of the justice system and maps out better ways to do things.
“JUSTICE stands as the conscience and heart of the legal profession as a whole – left, right, and centre.”
how we work
Our core activities
JUSTICE’s work spans administrative, civil, family and criminal justice in the United Kingdom. We have four intersecting core areas of activity.
Collaborative Reform Through Expert Working Parties
We use working parties of our members and other experts to identify and address areas ripe for reform. Supported by our staff, the working parties provide evidence-based analysis and propose practical solutions by drawing on leading academic research, international and comparative material, and lived experiences of people interacting with the justice system in different ways. We work towards implementing our working party recommendations, and use our reports to inform, influence and collaborate with decision-makers and other key actors.
Informing and Influencing Decision-Makers
We act as a bridge between law and lawmakers, briefing politicians from all parties on draft legislation relevant to the justice system in the UK and devolved Parliaments. We also respond to consultations from Government, parliamentary committees and other significant bodies within our areas of expertise.
Engaging with Lawmakers and Responding to Consultations
We hold informative events on our work and related issues, and on access to the legal profession for our members and other interested parties.
Advancing Justice Through Events and Legal Interventions
Finally, we submit third-party interventions before the UK Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights in cases that raise critical points of law in our areas of expertise.
Where we work
As well as working across England, we have a thriving JUSTICE Scotland chapter and staff in London, Edinburgh, and Sheffield. We also work in Wales and Northern Ireland and plan to deepen our engagement with these regions in the coming years.
JUSTICE is the UK section of the International Commission of Jurists – an organisation of eminent jurists working to defend human rights and the rule of law worldwide.
our values
Our culture
IndependenCE
We are an independent, trusted voice
We prize our objectivity, impartiality, and political neutrality. We are led by evidence, data, and careful analysis. This rigor and independence enable us to maintain strong trust and hold decision-makers to account.
inNOVATION
We are Innovative
We are not afraid to think differently and challenge the status quo when it is not working. We are forward looking and aim to set the agenda for justice system reform.
Integrity
We are evidence-led and value integrity
All JUSTICE’s work is carefully evidence based. We work with transparency and intellectual rigour, and we speak out with courage when appropriate.
INCLUSIVITY
We are inclusive
We seek a wide range of perspectives and expertise, ensuring the voices of those with lived experience and those most in need of a better justice system are heard loud and clear. We believe listening and empathy are critical to good policymaking.