The right to legal advice is an essential entitlement and an imperative step toward effective enjoyment of other fundamental rights, especially to the communities which have limited access to legal opinions due to scarce financial means. Global communities are adversely affected, particularly in relation to employment, domestic violence, and financial hardships during this pandemic. This pro-bono virtual legal clinics project is instrumental in enhancing social impact by ensuring that communities continuously have better access to quality legal advice and information during the COVID-19 Movement Control Order through multiple social networking tools and meaningful collaborations with NGOs.
TopIntroduction
Access to legal advice empowers individuals and communities, contributes to reducing poverty and promotes the protection of human rights (UNDP Global Legal Aid Report 2016). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes “the need to build peaceful, just, and inclusive societies which provide equal access to justice and are based on respect for human rights.” Goal 16, and its target 3 in particular, highlight the importance of ensuring “access to justice for all” in achieving sustainable development. That target has a direct impact on progress across other goals, such as Goal 1 on Poverty, Goal 5 on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, Goal 8 on Productive Employment and Decent Work, and Goal 10 on Reducing Inequalities.
With these targets in mind, this student community project via pro-bono virtual legal clinics is to ensure that communities would continuously have better access to quality legal advice and information during the COVID-19 Movement Control Order, even in the absence of face to face interaction in person.
The objectives of this virtual legal clinic are in line with the module objectives of Community Service Initiatives which are to:
- 1.
Inculcate a sense of Social Responsibility in the students.
- 2.
Promote the culture of caring and respect towards all members of society
- 3.
Make them responsible citizens of this country.
- 4.
Understand the community around them.
- 5.
Understand themselves in relation to their community and beyond.
This paper also explores the practical implications of virtual legal clinics to the future of legal practice and using suitable technologies, as well as the future of potential payment of legal fees in Malaysia using cryptocurrencies. In addition, the use of blockchain in the lifelong learning of the learners is also discussed to enable the issuance of legal pro bono passport in the long term.
TopAim And Scope Of Chapter
This chapter aims to: