The words ‘law’ and ‘innovation’ may seem at first to look like strange bedfellows, but The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law’s (HiiL) Justice Accelerator aims to combine the two.
Even though South Africa has one of the most robust legal systems backed by arguably the most forward-thinking and liberal constitution in the world, citizens can still run into into legal problems at certain intersection points. This can involve lack of awareness, corrupt authorities, lack of access to legal aid and more.
These are issues HiiL’s Innovating Justice Challenge seeks to address, by asking local entrepreneurs for ideas on how to improve things. Applications for the Justice Accelerator closed two months ago, and HiiLs has just announced the regional semi-finals for the Innovating Justice Challenge.
The field has been whittled from 601 ideas submitted from 65 countries down to just seven innovators and entrepreneurs from Zimbabwe and South Africa. This group will pitch to a panel of local legal and innovation experts, and international representatives from HiiL at the Boostcamp at OPEN Maboneng on 13th October.
“The number and quality of entries that HiiL received this year shows that the justice sector is ripe for disruption, with hundreds of like-minded innovators all thinking about how new technology and ideas can improve access to justice for all,” said Head of the Justice Accelerator, Wilfried de Wever.
“We’ve seen that every aspect of the law and its implementation is being challenged. In every country in which we operate, people are finding novel ways to improve justice systems. The challenge for HiiL is now is to look at how we can support ever more innovators globally in their work.”
Aside from competing for a place in the six month Hiil Justic Accelerator, winners will gain access to up to €20 000 in equity-free grant money.
If this sounds interesting to you, the Boostcamp will also feature panel discussions and working sessions that could prove a useful networking opportunity for legal professionals, law enforcement officials, academics, investors and entrepreneurs.
