 Explore and obtain further funding and technical support from International partners. 15.2.3 Justice System INQUIRY FINDING 37: The justice system has made commendable progress in relation to family violence but issues remain around access to justice, community awareness and use of customary practices in sentencing. The Justice Sector has been found by the Inquiry to be in relatively good shape in relation to family violence and containing a significant number of legal professionals with excellent understanding of the nature, causes and impacts of family violence and a commitment to addressing it which is a significant asset to Samoa. In order to improve, a number of issues have been identified: (1) improve access to justice through the establishment of the Community Law Centre; (2) establish standards for partner agencies; (3) review the use of mediation in family violence cases; (4) address the value of using ifoga and character references in the judicial process. 15.2.3.1 Community Law Centre The Fa’asamoa and human rights take exactly the same approach when it comes to access to justice. It must be universally accessed and applied and if amiotonu is not achieved then it undermines the Fa’asamoa. However, the Inquiry has found that access to justice is not universal when it comes to family violence, especially for people living in rural areas in lower income brackets. Not only can this demographic rarely afford legal representation but they are often not even aware of the legal protections available to them. It is the view of the Commissioners that the solution to this state of affairs has already been legislated for – the Community Law Centre Act 2015. This Act provides for the establishment of a legal aid service but has not yet been put into practice. Sufficiently resourced, such a Centre could both provide the required legal services for those who cannot afford it. It can also help raise awareness of legal protections victims of family violence can access, potentially through using the village representatives network. 15.2.3.2 Use of Mediation in Family Violence The use of mediation in matters of family violence is extremely contentious because the inherent power imbalance in most cases of family violence. It makes such dialogue on an equal footing impossible and can risk placing the victim in further harm. The courts in Samoa regularly refer victims, perpetrators and families to mediation services under the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act 2007 but the general lack of monitoring of impact of legislation means there has never been a proper assessment of whether the inherent risks of mediation in family violence matters are causing further harm within the context of Samoa. Whilst the Inquiry does not wish to automatically rule out the use of mediation in future cases it