Justice Matters conference
06 May 2026 – 08 May 2026
The Hague, the Netherlands and livestream
Separate registration forms for events on 6 and 8 May are available below.
About the conference
The world is sliding into deeper insecurity. For the twelfth time in sixteen years, global peace has declined, and in the past five years alone conflict levels have doubled. Today, fifty countries are gripped by extreme, high, or turbulent violence—from protracted wars and authoritarian crackdowns to spiralling crime and state collapse. This is not a passing crisis; it is a structural failure. At the heart of this failure lies a deficit of justice. While military responses, ceasefires, and disarmament negotiations dominate the global response to conflict, the absence of fair, accessible, and legitimate pathways for resolving grievances is often ignored. Yet instability is rarely born in a vacuum. It grows where people are excluded, abused, or ignored; where corruption replaces accountability; and where systems of law serve power, not people. Stability and justice are not separate policy goals; they are co-dependent conditions of peace.
This conference invites bold and honest conversation on what it means for stability to follow justice: making justice a frontline strategy in conflict prevention and peacebuilding, repivoting international development cooperation and diplomacy to prioritise access to justice, and respecting local mechanisms of dispute resolution. It asks difficult questions about justice in fragile and polarised contexts, and challenges the international community to confront whether it can claim to be building stability while turning a blind eye to injustice.
Event details will be announced in the coming weeks. In the meantime, revisit highlights from 2025:
6 May: Day 1
6 May | 09:00 - 10:30
The Hague Humanity Hub | Fluwelen Burgwal 58, The Hague, The Netherlands
UNDP, Cordaid, and The Humanity Hub
People-centered justice as an early warning and prevention tool
Speakers:
- Ms. Claudine Tsongo – Dynamique des femmes juristes, DRC
- Mr. Moncef Kartas – Head of UNDP’s Peace Support Facility, Ethiopia
- speaker from IDLO’s Ukraine programme (TBC)
- Jelle Postma – Executive Director, Justice for Prosperity (TBC)
Registration link: TBA
6 May | 11:00 - 12:30
HiiL office | Van Bylandt Huis, Benoordenhoutseweg 46, The Hague, The Netherlands
Organised by: Team Europe Democracy (TED) Initiative | In Partnership with: HiiL, International Development Law Organisation (IDLO), and Open Government Partnership (OGP)
Commercial Justice at the Intersection of Justice, Investment, and Economic Development
This Team Europe Democracy (TED) side event, organised alongside the Justice Matters Conference in The Hague, explores how commercial justice can strengthen the link between rule of law, investment, and inclusive economic development. Bringing together policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and investment actors, the session examines how people-centred approaches to commercial justice can improve business environments while ensuring justice systems work for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs, and communities.
Commercial justice is often discussed in technical terms such as contract enforcement, judicial efficiency, or investor confidence. Yet accessible and predictable dispute resolution is essential for businesses to operate, invest, and grow. Effective commercial justice reduces uncertainty, improves access to finance, supports productivity, and builds trust in markets. Weak systems, by contrast, increase risks, discourage investment, and limit economic opportunities.
The event is structured in two parts. The first panel highlights implementation experience and country examples, focusing on justice gaps and practical solutions such as alternative dispute resolution, simplified procedures, and legal empowerment. The second panel brings together development, trade, and investment actors to discuss how commercial justice supports sustainable investment, Global Gateway objectives, and inclusive economic growth.
By connecting justice and economic perspectives, the event aims to promote stronger integration of commercial justice into development cooperation and investment programming.s
Registration link: TBA
6 May | 14:00 - 16:00
HiiL office | Van Bylandt Huis, Benoordenhoutseweg 46, The Hague
Organised by: The African Alliance for People-Centred Justice and the Ibero-American Alliance for Access to Justice | In partnership with: The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL), Pathfinders for Peaceful Just and Inclusive Societies - CIC-NYU, Red Internacional de Justicia Abierta (RIJA), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
High-Level Judicial Dialogue: Building People-Centred Justice Across Africa and Iberoamerica
Convened as a side event to the Justice Matters 2026 conference, this high-level judicial dialogue brings together senior judges from Africa and Iberoamerica to explore how people-centred and open justice approaches can strengthen stability, trust, and access to justice. Organised by the African Alliance for People-Centred Justice and the Ibero-American Alliance for Access to Justice, in partnership with HiiL, Pathfinders, RIJA, and UNDP, the session creates a peer-to-peer space for judicial leadership and cross-regional learning.
Amid growing inequality, democratic backsliding, and declining trust in institutions, courts are increasingly called upon to address everyday justice problems that affect livelihoods, social cohesion, and economic participation. People-centred justice offers a practical framework for judiciaries to focus on resolving the disputes that matter most—such as family, land, employment, and small business conflicts—while improving accessibility, transparency, and fairness. Combined with open justice reforms, this approach can strengthen legitimacy, prevent conflict, and enhance institutional resilience.
The dialogue will feature judges sharing concrete experiences on using data to identify priority justice needs, advancing transparency and accountability, and integrating formal and informal dispute resolution pathways. Through cross-regional exchange, participants will examine scalable reforms and the role of judicial leadership in delivering timely, fair, and trusted justice.
The event aims to foster sustained collaboration across the African and Latin American and Caribbean regions, and contribute to a shared vision for people-centred justice as a cornerstone of stability, democratic governance, and inclusive development.
Speakers:
- Hon. Justice Diana Rachel Kavedza-Mochache, Justice of the High Court of Kenya
- Hon. Justice Mariela Ponce, Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice of Querétaro State, Mexico
- Hon. Justice Kate Ogunsanya, Justice of the High Court of Ogun State, Nigeria
- Hon. Justice Gerardo Rubén Alfaro, Justice of the Criminal Appeals Court and Director of Restorative Justice, Costa Rica
- Hon. Justice Jaceguara Dantas da Silva, National Council of Justice and Justice of the Court of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
- More TBA
6 May | 17:30 - 19:00
Amare, Tribunetrap | Spuiplein 150, The Hague
The Hague Humanity Hub and HiiL
From Margins to Center: Women’s Justice in Fragile Times
In times of crisis, justice systems are often strained, and women disproportionately bear the consequences. From legal exclusion and insecurity to social stigma and economic dependency, fragile and conflict-affected contexts amplify barriers to justice for women. Yet these moments also present an opportunity: when women’s voices move from the margins to the center of decision-making, justice systems can become more inclusive, legitimate, and resilient.
Justice Matters 2026 opens with a high-level conversation placing women at the heart of justice reform. Hosted by the Humanity Hub and the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law, this inaugural panel brings together women leaders and justice champions to explore how lived experiences, agency, and leadership can shape more responsive justice systems during fragile times. Drawing on research and practical examples, the discussion will examine how women experience injustice, highlight gender-sensitive justice responses, and consider what it means for women to be co-creators rather than passive beneficiaries of reform.
At a time when the rule of law is under global pressure, centering women’s access to justice is not only a matter of equality but a foundation for sustainable peace and societal stability.
Speakers:
- Marielle Vavier, Deputy Mayor for Poverty, Inclusion, Public Health and International Affairs, The Hague
- Sara Hossain, Chair, Independent International Fact-finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran & Honorary Executive Director, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST)
- Sanaa AlSarghali, Member, Drafting Committee on the Palestinian Interim Constitution & UNESCO Chair on Human Rights Democracy and Peace
Moderated by:
- Ijeoma Nwafor, Country Representative, Nigeria, HiiL
7 May: Day 2 | Plenary event
7 May | 09:30 - 17:00
Peace Palace | Carnegieplein 2, The Hague
Justice Matters: plenary event
On 7 May 2026, the Peace Palace in The Hague will host a high-level plenary dedicated to the urgent theme: “Justice First. Stability Follows“.
The program features a series of keynote addresses and deep-dive sessions designed to pivot justice from a post-conflict afterthought to a frontline strategy for prevention:
Session 1: The Problem
A deep dive into the nexus of stability and justice and starts from the current state of conflict, tension, great power conflicts and the inertia of the security council and various regional bodies. How has this developed and what outlook for the near future do we see? How have justice systems responded to rising conflicts, what general observations can we make about the role justice systems play in stability and security at the regional, national and global level?
Session 2: Practical examples
In four Ted-talk style presentations, we showcase concrete and distinct examples where justice mechanisms contribute to stability. This session aims to make a convincing case for the applicability of justice delivery for sustaining stability in diverse situations.
Session 3: Political buy-in / investment
Leveraging justice systems for stability requires continued political buy-in and predictable investment. What is needed to successfully make the argument that stability can be realised through justice? Who needs to be convinced and mobilised, and, once the logic has landed, how can investment (resources) be utilised to help justice systems work towards stability so that the investment comes back with a clear return?
8 May: Day 3
8 May | 10:00 - 12:30
HiiL office | Van Bylandt Huis, Benoordenhoutseweg 46, The Hague, The Netherlands
Organised by: GIZ | In partnership with: HiiL, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and United Nations Office of Drug and Crime (UNODC)
AI for Fair and People-Centred Justice Systems
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly entering justice systems, offering new opportunities to improve access, efficiency, and responsiveness. At the same time, AI raises critical questions around fairness, bias, transparency, privacy, and accountability—especially in contexts where justice systems face resource constraints and institutional pressure. This interactive side event explores how AI can be designed, deployed, and governed to strengthen people-centred justice while safeguarding the rule of law.
Organised by GIZ in partnership with HiiL, OECD, and UNODC, the session shifts the conversation from whether to use AI in justice to how AI-powered services can responsibly move from prototype to scale. Participants will examine the potential and the risks of shared, open, and responsible AI infrastructure to support governments, justice institutions, and civil society in building scalable justice solutions.
Through a scenario-based board game “From Prototype to Scale-Up” , participants will work in small teams to navigate real-world challenges related to governance, ethics, financing, and institutional uptake. The session will generate practical insights on mitigating risks, strengthening trust, and ensuring AI adoption enhances due process and democratic governance. By the end, participants will share concrete lessons for scaling AI-powered justice responsibly and collaboratively.
The event partners and supporters:
