Access to justice is foundational for any group of people to prosper – this is true for asylum seekers in Germany, who are vulnerable and underserved. Our study explored how legal technology can enhance access to justice for asylum seekers within asylum law. First, we identified the barriers to justice through a comprehensive analysis of relevant statistics, technological interventions, as well as Germany’s unique situation. These include complexities in understanding legal rights, how to pursue redress, where to find information, fostering trust, the language barrier, monetary difficulties, and the disparities in employment faced by asylum seekers. We found few legal tech tools have applications in asylum law, leaving many gaps in coverage. Based on an analysis of the state of general tech tool usage, we concluded that there is great potential in the expansion of these tools. However, using secondary research, literature reviews, and expert interviews, we found there are many barriers to expanding legal tech in asylum law, including financial and political barriers. University partnerships with the public sector as well as increased support from the government to maintain these systems both financially and through cultivating public support could address these barriers. This study not only highlights the specific challenges faced by asylum seekers but also the transformative potential of legal technology within the law. By doing so we aimed to contribute to the broader discourse on legal aid reform as well as support and inspire innovation through technology to better support society’s most underserved groups.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Stahl, Zachary
• Stark, Dexter
• DeFlaminio, Brian

Subject

• Innovation
• Community
• Inclusion
• Computing

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-042924-153711
• 122035

Palabra Clave

• Asylum seeker
• Asylum technology tools
• Law technology
• Germany asylum law
• Access to Justice
• Asylum Law

Advisor

• Mardilovich, Ivan P.
• Foo, Katherine

Year

• 2024

Center

• Berlin, Germany Project Center - IQP

Sponsor

• recode.law

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• 4 - Quality Education
• 5 - Gender Equality
• 10 - Reducing Inequality
• 16 - Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

Date created

• 2024-04-29

Resource type

• Interactive Qualifying Project

Source

• E-project-042924-153711

Rights statement

• In Copyright

License

• Creative Commons BY-NC Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International

Última modificación

• 2024-05-20