Marval’s Contribution to Access to Justice

The definition of poverty as lack of economic resources is insufficient, since it also includes a shortage of other necessary tools for the whole development of a person. Hence, poverty is tied to the lack of information about basic human rights as a first obstacle for access to Justice: those who are ignorant of their rights will never be able to demand them.

To make matters worse, poor sectors of the population are isolated from any possibility of obtaining this information, due to their physical location, or their lack of interest and the feeling of despair caused by their surroundings.

Thus, just as legislation protects the weak party in a consumer contract, a labor relationship, etc., the government must take measures to empower unprotected sectors of society, providing them with information about their basic rights as a point of departure for access to Justice.

That is the reason why 60 Centers of Access to Justice were created in the whole country, mainly inside shanty towns. There, an interdisciplinary team of lawyers, social workers and psychologists assists and orients neighbors about their rights.

In this context, our firm —with a strong vocation towards pro bono work— along with other law firms that integrate the Pro Bono Work Commission of the Colegio de Abogados de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, participates in the program Justicia 2020, launched by the Argentine Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, to provide legal representation in cases of public interest, with the ultimate objective of contributing to access to Justice for all.