Access and knowledge of the law: supporting migrants in understanding law

The legal system is the backbone of modern society, stating the conditions under which people should behave, what rights they have. In such a context, free access to legal information is part of a process in constant balance between strengthening the rule of law, on the one hand, and fighting against new attempts to monopolize it, on the other hand. The paper is devoted to a discussion on the issues concerning the role of libraries, research institutions and in general public bodies to support and ensure that vulnerable or at-risk communities have free access to the law, exploring the opportunity to create services not just for accessing the law, but also for its understanding. A particular attention will be given to a specific Web Portal, PAeSI - Public Administration and Migrants: (www.immigrazione.regione.toscana.it), developed by CNR IGSG and implemented in Italy for facilitating access to legal information in the field of immigration to a particular vulnerable category of citizens: third countries citizens settled recently in a host country.