Advancing human rights through legal empowerment of the disadvantaged

Lisa Hilbink and Valentina Salas

Chapter 27 in Research Handbook on Human Rights and Poverty, 2026, pp 462-478 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter makes the case that advancing human rights and fighting poverty requires going beyond institutional reforms to take an approach anchored in legal empowerment. Legal empowerment works to undo the marginalization and deprivation inherent in poverty by strengthening people's capacity to advocate for themselves and their communities (process) and by enhancing their chances of correcting the injustices they face and improving the conditions in which they live (outcomes). The chapter reviews the theories underpinning the legal empowerment approach and key strategies of legal empowerment in practice, and reflects on the impact that such initiatives have in strengthening people's legal agency. It then discusses the case of Chile to illustrate that improving the quality of judicial institutions is not enough to advance the human rights of disadvantaged people.

Keywords: Access to justice; Human rights; Justice reform; Legal agency; Legal empowerment; Rule of law (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035350506
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