Franco, JenniferSoliman, HectorCisnero, Maria Roda2014-04-162014-04-162014https://hdl.handle.net/10986/17825Community-based paralegalism has been active in the Philippines for the past 30 years, and yet its contribution to access to justice and the advancement of the rights and entitlements of the poor has been largely an undocumented. This paper attempts to provide a framework study on the history, nature, and scope of paralegal work in the Philippines, based on the experience of 12 organizations that are active in the training and development of community-oriented paralegals. The study first provides a working definition of a community-based paralegal, and then examines the work of paralegals, their systems of accountability or lack thereof, and issues regarding recognition by the state and civil society actors. It also explores facilitating and hindering factors that aid or impinge upon the paralegals' effectiveness. A major contributor to the work of paralegals was the democratization process after the overthrow of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and the continuing evolution of legal rights spurred by the relatively progressive constitution ratified in 1987. Three dimensions of paralegal's work are identified and explored, namely, building rights awareness, settling private disputes, and increasing state and corporate accountability. The study ends with conclusions and recommendations with regard to sustainability, monitoring and evaluation, funding, and the prospects for paralegal work over the long term.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOABUSESACCESS TO JUSTICEACCESS TO LEGAL SERVICESACCOUNTABILITYACTIONSACTIVE INVOLVEMENTADJUDICATIONADJUDICATORSADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICEADVOCACYAFFIDAVITSASIAN STUDIESAUTHORITYCIVIL RIGHTSCIVIL SOCIETYCIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONCIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONSCOLLAPSECOMMUNITY LEGAL EDUCATIONCOMPENSATIONCOMPLAINTCONCILIATIONCORRUPTCORRUPT PRACTICESCOURTCOURTSCRIMINALCRIMINAL JUSTICECUSTOMARY LAWCUSTOMARY PRACTICESDETAINEEDETAINEESDISCRIMINATIONDISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMENDISPUTE RESOLUTIONDOMESTIC VIOLENCEECONOMIC REFORMELECTIONELECTION TIMEEMPOWERMENTENVIRONMENTAL LAWENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATIONENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONEUROPEAN UNIONEXECUTIVE BRANCHGENDERGENDER BIASGOVERNANCE ISSUESGOVERNMENT LAWGOVERNMENT OFFICIALSHARASSMENTHOMEHUMAN RIGHTSHUMAN RIGHTS LAWHUMAN RIGHTS PRINCIPLESHUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDSHUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONSHUSBANDIMPLEMENTATION OF LAWSINDIGENT LITIGANTSINFORMAL INSTITUTIONSINITIATIVEINSTITUTIONALIZATIONINTEGRITYINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTINVESTIGATIONSJUDGEJUDGESJUDICIAL INSTITUTIONSJUDICIARYJURISPRUDENCELABOR UNIONSLAND DISPUTESLAND OWNERSHIPLAW ENFORCEMENTLAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIESLAW FIRMSLAW OFFICESLAW REFORMLAW SCHOOLSLAW STUDENTSLAWSLAWYERLAWYERSLEGAL ADVOCACYLEGAL AIDLEGAL ASSISTANCELEGAL EDUCATIONLEGAL FRAMEWORKLEGAL INFORMATIONLEGAL INSTITUTIONSLEGAL LITERACYLEGAL PROCEDURELEGAL RESPONSIBILITYLEGAL RIGHTSLEGAL SERVICELEGAL SERVICESLEGAL STATUSLEGAL TRAININGLEGISLATIONLEGITIMACYLIBERTYLOBBYINGMARTIAL LAWMEDIATIONMINISTRIES OF JUSTICEMUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTNATIONAL LAWSOFFENDEROFFENSEPATRONAGEPOLICEPOLITICAL CHANGEPOLITICAL RIGHTSPOLITICIANPRACTICE OF LAWPRISONSPRIVACYPRIVATIZATIONPROFESSIONALSPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC INFORMATIONPUBLIC INTERESTPUBLIC OFFICIALRAPEREMEDYREPRESENTATIVESREPRESSIONRIGHT TO PRIVACYRULE OF LAWSANCTIONSEPARATION OF POWERSSOCIAL CHANGESOCIAL JUSTICESOCIAL STRUCTURESSTATE LAWTRIALVIOLATIONSVIOLENCEVIOLENCE AGAINST WOMENWILLWOMAN10.1596/17825