Judicial Virtual Desk Service: Brazil's Approach to Broadening Access to Justice

Access to justice summarises other fundamental values and guarantees comprising different aspects. In Administration of Justice studies, access can be understood as access to judicial services and information. Judicial Desk Services (JDS) play a crucial role in helping bring justice access to citizens, a fact often overlooked. These units, among the most demanded inside judiciaries, serve not only lawyers but also the citizens they represent, directly connecting the recipients of justice with the judiciary units. This paper describes the Brazilian experience transforming the JDS into a virtual service, emphasising its effects on broadening access to justice and promoting efficiency. The approach is descriptive and exploratory, based on documental analyses of rules, meeting minutes, official reports and workers' narratives. It also aims to explore the reasons for its wide acceptance. The experience may be transposed to other government sectors or different countries' judiciaries, promoting access to justice for all.