Academic Advisory Panel Briefing Paper Access to Remedy – Systemic Issues and Structural Orders 30 November 2020

Abstract

This briefing paper provides an introduction to the concept of structural orders as a form of remedy to address systemic issues. It is intended to inform discussions for the National Task Force Access to Remedy Roundtable on 7 December 2020 and to be read alongside the Access to Justice Briefing Paper dated 1 September 2020 that explains how access to justice can be framed as a journey from initial advice through to effective remedy using principles of adjudication. Structural orders may help ensure effective remedies are available for violations of human rights. They are one tool of many and so should be viewed within the context of a range or remedies across a spectrum (deferential to interventionist) that should be available to the judiciary. The more flexible the remedial framework is the better placed the judiciary will be to respond appropriately to ensure the remedy deployed is effective according to international human rights law. Structural orders are one of many different ways of ensuring access to justice depending on the circumstances of each case.