Together with diverse partners, HiiL has worked on several justice initiatives in the Netherlands. This includes improving legal procedures for divorce and family conflicts, publishing documents on the broader topic of the rule of law in the Netherlands, and spearheading projects concerned with the Dutch the criminal justice system.

One of our closest partners in recent years is the Municipality of The Hague. The international city of peace and justice has much to offer. From a global perspective, HiiL published a ‘Future of ICC report’ in 2017, using a scenario-planning method to discuss relevant trends related to international criminal court proceedings.

While renowned internationally, The Hague, however should not overlook its local needs. With that in mind, the municipality and HiiL examined the conflicts affecting the daily lives of residents in The Hague. This online Justice Needs and Satisfaction study (e-JNS) revealed neighbour conflicts as the most common. Building on this data and our cooperation, with the city, HiiL organised an innovation lab to explore solutions for the large number of neighbour problems. The lab produced a detailed implementation plan for the city of The Hague.

Another area in the Netherlands in which HiiL has been active is the criminal justice system. Through our research and projects, we envision a criminal justice system that is connected more with the human-element, both in terms of responsiveness and design of (alternative) interventions. This is a big challenge, one that sometimes requires a different kind of conversation and new forms of cross-organisational and even cross-sectoral collaboration. The most recent work on the topic of criminal justice consisted of a set of stakeholder dialogues.

What is next?

HiiL continues to work with its partners on people-centred justice programming in the future.

One ambition is a broadscale R&D programme that aims to facilitate the development of accessible, effective resolution options for (legal) problems. These new products in the justice sector would enable solving 80% of the justice problems that people experience in a timely and fair manner by 2030.

Request for proposals: Interaction design and development for Justice Innovation Lab prototypes

HiiL is dedicated to people-centred justice. That is justice which is affordable, accessible, and easy to understand. Headquartered in The Hague, we have programmes focused on increasing access to justice across West Africa, East Africa, and the Middle East. To support our Justice Innovation Lab initiatives, HiiL is now looking for a Netherlands-based agency specialised in interaction design and web development.

Proposals may be submitted on or before 30 May 2023 at 17:00 hrs (CET) only through email to the following email address: zainab.malik@hiil.org and with the subject line: “JIL/proposal/name of company”. requests for clarifications can be addressed to zainab.malik@hiil.org before 25 May 2023.

For more information about this opportunity, please refer to the Request for Proposal.

Projects in the Netherlands

Versterkt conflictoplossend vermogen

The justice sector in the Netherlands lacks well-organised and sufficiently funded research and development. As a result, existing institutional justice services are overburdened. However, there is a better way to creating fair, effective and responsive pathways to conflict resolution. Together with a consortium of partners, we are investing in research and evidence-based practice to reform and strengthen conflict resolution capabilities in the Netherlands.

Justice Needs & Satisfaction in Uganda

Changing Justice Gears: Strafrecht met Perspectief

HiiL is currently implementing a multi-year project entitled ‘Strafrecht met Perspectief’ (Criminal Justice with Perspective). The goal of the project is to contribute to a criminal justice system in the Netherlands that is more meaningful and socially relevant. To this end, stakeholder dialogues have been organised with a total of about 30 persons who are stakeholders in establishing and operationalizing an effective criminal justice system. The project is part of the overarching program ‘Changing Justice Gears’.

Justice Needs and Satisfaction in The Hague

In 2019, the municipality of The Hague pledged to prioritise user-friendly justice for its citizens by understanding their justice problems. For example, what problems occur most often among and between residents of The Hague? Are these issues being addressed and if not, why? To answer these questions among others, The Hague Municipality partnered with HiiL to identify ways for improving accountability and responsiveness towards the justice needs and challenges in the international city of peace and justice.

Justice Needs & Satisfaction in Uganda

Justice Innovation Lab on neighbour conflicts

In 2020, the Municipality of The Hague and HiiL researched what the most common conflicts for residents in need of peace and justice are. Neighbour conflicts stood out. They occur frequently and are not often or easily resolved. This was the reason for the Municipality of The Hague to ask HiiL to bring stakeholders together to come up with a solution for the large amount of neighbour conflicts in the city.