About the Project
"Paths to Justice" addresses the question of how science communication can be presented through design strategies that enable diverse audiences outside of academic circles to better understand scientific concepts. This is particularly important in the social sciences, where socially and politically relevant issues are discussed.
The social and political dimension of the project is also clearly reflected in the question of whether all Berlin citizens have equal access to the law. Thus, the Master’s project "Paths to Justice" aims to make the findings from the second phase of the research project “Access to Justice in Berlin” accessible to people outside of academia to inform them and enable their active participation.
"Paths to Justice" was developed as part of Sophie Pischel’s Master’s degree in Visual Communication (Information Design class) at the Berlin University of the Arts. It was created in collaboration with the research group "Law and Governance in the Context of Social Inequalities" at the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) as part of the Visual Society Program and under the supervision of Professor David Skopec, Professor Franziska Morlok, and Professor Bianca Herlo.
Concept and Design: Sophie Pischel
Texts: Luise Freitag, Philipp Günther, Julx Krause, Moritz Fischer, Anja Liebig, Charlotte von Lampe, Sophie Pischel
Code: Florian Schimanski
Fonts: Ruder LL, ABC Monument Grotesk, IBM Plex Mono
About the Research Project "Access to Justice"
The research team at the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) have been investigating since the end of 2020 whether Berlin citizens have equal access to law and justice. The researchers examine various legal, institutional, material, and social barriers that influence access to courts and the enforcement of rights. The aim of the project is to gain well-founded scientific insights into legal access and to develop concrete recommendations for the Berlin Senate Department for Justice and Consumer Protection to improve access to justice for all.
International organizations such as the United Nations, the OECD, and the EU regularly call on member states to review and improve the effectiveness of legal protection, especially for disadvantaged social groups. However, there have been only a few current studies in Germany on the workings of the judiciary and access to law. Earlier studies indicate that access to justice is unevenly distributed due to various barriers. The study pays particular attention to possible inequalities based on ethnic origin, racist attributions, and social status differences.
A particular research focus is on areas of civil law that are relevant to everyday life, such as tenancy and consumer protection law, as well as access to justice for victims of domestic violence. The study uses a variety of methodological approaches, including guided interviews, focus groups, participant observation and statistical analysis of judicial and administrative statistics.
During the Master’s project, the following individuals worked on the research project: Prof. Dr. Michael Wrase (Project Leader), Paula Edling (Project Coordinator), Philipp Günther, Jannis Hertel, Dr. Lisa Hahn, Johanna Behr, Luise Freitag, Moritz Fischer, Charlotte von Lampe, Julx Krause, Anja Liebig, Lilly-Allegra Hickisch