Category Justice Metrics

World Justice Project Report looks at Country-level Performance on UN SDG Civil Justice Indicator

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The World Justice Project (WJP) has unveiled new research at a high-level summit in New York that examines how 62 countries are performing on UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 16.3.3, the measure of access to informal and formal mechanisms to address non-criminal disputes. The report also presents country-level insights on the justice gap for more than 100 countries.

The graphical report reveals a prevalence of legal problem experiences within the two-year reference period of the WJP’s legal needs survey, and persistent unmet civil legal needs. Outside of access to formal and informal justice services, the report also confirms barriers to access adequate information to help resolve legal problems, a lack access to appropriate assistance or legal representation, and difficulties managing costs incurred during the problem resolution process. The report indicates estimated impacts of 1.7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that derive from lost income, health issues and related problems that result from legal problem experiences.

Part I of the WJP Justice Data Graphical Report can be accessed online here: https://worldjusticeproject.org/wjp-justice-data-graphical-report-i. Part II of the report will be published in advance of the SDG Summit in September 2023.

B.C. Demographic Survey Seeks to Identify Systemic Racism and Aid Equitable Access

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British Columbia has launched a new survey aimed at gathering information on gaps and barriers that exist for racialized groups and Indigenous Peoples across the province. The recently launched B.C. Demographic Survey focuses on the needs of the province’s diverse population and addresses priorities outlined under B.C.’s Anti-Racism Data Act, which came into effect in June 2022.

The Anti-Racism Data Committee has identified the following priority areas for research:

  • Racial diversity within B.C.’s Public Service and equity in hiring and career development;
  • Interactions with the justice system and analysis of ‘complaints’ models;
  • Health outcomes, including understanding how the system is performing for different demographic groups;
  • Understanding how students across demographic groups access and use education supports and their outcomes;
  • Children, youth, and family wellness in home and away from home;
  • Economic inclusion, including analysis of unpaid work and foreign credential recognition;
  • Homelessness, housing supply and security

The survey is open to B.C. residents aged 13 or over. A parent or legal guardian can complete the survey on behalf of children under 13. The survey is available in 15 languages and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. It will remain open until September 29th.

Access the survey in English here: https://antiracism.gov.bc.ca/help-fill-gaps-in-bc-government-services.

Information for this post was gleaned from the Government of British Columbia’s Anti-racism webpage and the following CBC News article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-demographic-survey-systemic-racism-legislation-1.6877013.

UNDP Publishes Evaluation of Support to Access to Justice

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The Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has published an evaluation of the UNDP’s support to access to justice. The evaluation examines UNDP support from 2014 to 2022, and is based on the following UNDP definition of access to justice: “the ability of people to seek and obtain a remedy, through the formal or informal justice system, and in accordance with human rights principles and standards”.

The evaluation’s six evaluation questions collectively identify the extent, effectiveness, relevance, coherence and sustainability of the UNDP’s efforts, which are assessed using qualitative and quantitative methods.

The evaluation’s 7 recommendations include:

  • Enhanced investment by the UNDP, and the strengthening of the UNDP’s value proposition in the area of access to justice at the country level, based on comprehensive analyses of institutional and people’s justice needs;
  • Pivoting UNDP programmes to people-centred justice, including ongoing support to the institutionalization of legal aid and programmatic focus on fairness, quality and oversight of justice processes in ways that align with people’s ability to address and prevent justice problems;
  • Expanding the UNDP’s work to include more actors, such as alternative dispute resolution;
  • Investment in more and better people-centred justice data.

The full Evaluation of UNDP Support of Access to Justice report and infographics are available in English here: http://web.undp.org/evaluation/evaluations/thematic/a2j.shtml.

Statistics Canada Launches Municipal and Local Data Portal

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Statistics Canada – in collaboration with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities – announced the launch of the Centre for Municipal and Local Data (CMLD) portal.

The CMLD aims to serve as a clearinghouse for consistent and comparable municipal data, while “empower[ing] municipalities through timely, trusted and reliable data.”

The portal includes:

  • a data integration and visualisation tool which displays a set of key indicators geographically;
  • a data catalogue of statistics and indicators relevant to municipalities, such as the integration of census data, as well as housing, health and crime statistics;
  • a municipal mapping function;
  • a municipal financial and socioeconomic dashboard which currently allows for comparisons across 35 Canadian cities on standard financial indicators, including those relating to infrastructure spending, as well as allowing integration of selected socioeconomic indicators

Statistics Canada and the FCM invite stakeholders and the public to check the portal regularly as new data and features will continue to be added.

The recently launched Centre for Municipal and Local Data can be accessed online at: https://www159.statcan.gc.ca/index-eng.htm.

Some details about the CMLD in this post were copied from a news release from Statistics Canada’s Stakeholder Relations and Engagement Division.

Study on the Costs and Benefits of Community-Based Justice in Sierra Leone Makes Important Recommendations for Scaling Up Community Justice Services

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On average, it costs users of local, paralegal services in Sierra Leone US $8.44 to access the service, far below what it costs to access the formal justice system. According to a new report on the Costs and Benefits of Community-Based Justice in Sierra Leone, without these community-based justice services, the government would spend approximately US $23.3M to support access to justice services through the formal justice system. This compares with approximately US $18.3M to access community-based justice services. This is among several important findings from a first-of-its-kind study by the Center for Alternative Policy Research & Innovation on The Costs and Benefits of Community-Based Justice in Sierra Leone.

The report makes 10 recommendations for scaling up paralegal-based justice services, including:

  • Establishing a National Legal Empowerment Fund;
  • Funding exploratory research;
  • Further reducing out-of-pocket costs to access community-based justice services;
  • Meaningfully integrating community-based justice services in the broader justice sector; and
  • Building robust and efficient monitoring and evaluation systems.

The Costs and Benefits of Community-Based Justice in Sierra Leone by Felix Marco Conteh, Yakama Manty Jones, Sonkita Conteh, Henry Mbawa and Aisha Fofana Ibrahim (CAPRI) is available online here: https://www.caprisl.org/post/the-costs-and-benefits-of-community-based-justice-in-sierra-leone.

This project was funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and is one of the final research outputs from a multi-country research initiative on Community-Based Justice Research.

Legal Services Corporation Publishes 2022 Justice Gap Report

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The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) has published new insights on unmet legal needs among low-income earners in the U.S. “The Justice Gap: The Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-income Americans”, published in April 2022 is the fourth comprehensive report by the LSC examining the civil legal needs and access to justice challenges of low-income earners in the U.S. The report includes data from a survey of 5,000 households, which reveals that 92% of low-income earners in the U.S. did not receive any or adequate legal help to address their civil legal problems. This compares with 86% of low-income earners who did not receive any or enough help for civil legal problems in the 2017 Justice Gap report. The report also includes insights related to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the legal needs and experiences of Americans.

The Justice Gap: The Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-income Americans is published on the LSC website here: https://justicegap.lsc.gov/the-report/.

Justice Canada Publishes Reports on Legal Problem Experiences in Canada’s Provinces

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Justice Canada has published a series of reports examining experiences with serious legal problems in Canada’s provinces. The Canadian Legal Problems Survey (CLPS) joins other Canadian legal problems surveys (in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2014) in providing important insights into Canadian’s experiences with serious legal problems and the impacts of these experiences.

Experiences of serious problems or disputes in the Canadian provinces, 2021 is published in English here: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220118/dq220118c-eng.htm.
Expériences de conflits ou de problèmes graves dans les provinces canadiennes, 2021 est disponible en français ici : https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220118/dq220118c-fra.htm.

Justice Canada has also published a series of qualitative legal problems reports from studies carried out with different populations in different parts of Canada. Each report details experiences of these populations with serious legal problems. The collection of reports includes:

Serious Legal Problems faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Other Sexual-Minority People in Western Canada: A Qualitative Study: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/lgbtq/index.html.
Les graves problèmes juridiques rencontrés par les personnes lesbiennes, gaies, bisexuelles et autres membres de minorités sexuelles dans l’Ouest canadien : Une étude qualitative : https://www.justice.gc.ca/fra/pr-rp/jr/lgbtq/index.html.

A Qualitative Look at Serious Legal Problems Faced by Immigrants in Greater Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/ivvbc/index.html.
Un examen qualitatif des problèmes d’ordre juridique graves auxquels se heurtent les immigrants dans les agglomérations de Victoria et de Vancouver (Colombie-Britannique) : https://www.justice.gc.ca/fra/pr-rp/jr/ivvbc/index.html.

A Qualitative Look at Serious Legal Problems Facing Immigrants in London and Toronto, Ontario: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/ilto/index.html.
Un examen qualitatif des problèmes d’ordre juridique graves auxquels font face les immigrants à London et à Toronto (Ontario) : https://www.justice.gc.ca/fra/pr-rp/jr/ilto/index.html.

Serious Problems Experienced by People with Disabilities Living in Atlantic Canada: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/pwdac-phca/index.html.
Problèmes graves rencontrés par les personnes handicapées au Canada atlantique : https://www.justice.gc.ca/fra/pr-rp/jr/phca-pwdac/index.html.

A Qualitative Look at Serious Legal Problems for People with Disabilities in Central Canada: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/pwdcc-phcc/index.html.
Un examen qualitatif des problèmes d’ordre juridique graves touchant les personnes handicapées dans le centre du Canada : https://www.justice.gc.ca/fra/pr-rp/jr/phcc-pwdcc/index.html.

Serious Problems Experienced by Diverse People with Disabilities: Western Canada: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/pwdwc-phcw/index.html.
Problèmes graves rencontrés par diverses personnes en situation de handicap – Ouest du Canada : https://www.justice.gc.ca/fra/pr-rp/jr/phcw-pwdwc/index.html.

Project to Assess Unbundled Legal Services Publishes Phase 1 Report

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The Family Law Unbundled Legal Services Research Project (ULSRP) is an initiative by the Access to Justice BC Unbundling Working Group, Family Justice Innovation Lab Society, and Standpoint Decisions Inc. which seeks to examine the effectiveness of family unbundled legal services. The project also aims to “facilitate access to justice by enhancing the working relationships between the existing community of [unbundled legal services] providers and BC citizens most in need of unbundled-type services.”

The project is being conducted in two phases, with the focus of Phase 1 to test and demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of a proposed model for ongoing feedback from unbundled legal services clients. Data collected from this project will help service providers, innovators and policy-makers to assess the effectiveness of unbundled family legal services and better understand the user/client experience. The final report from Phase 1 of the Family Law Unbundled Legal Services Research Project is available here: https://www.bcfamilyinnovationlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/ULSRP-Phase-1-Report-2021-12-08-File-No-2020-LLR-3552-no-financials.pdf.

Hague Institute for Innovation of Law Publishes Report Examining Connection Between Access to Justice and Poverty

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HiiL –the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law— has published findings from a new study that examines the relationship between access to justice and poverty. The recently published “Poverty and Access to Justice” 2021 report includes research carried out across 13 countries with responses from more than 70,000 people. Findings suggest that the relationship between poverty and access to justice is “non-linear” as well as “complex and nuanced”. People who are considered to be poor and the non-poor alike both experience significant problems accessing justice. Notwithstanding, there are more readily discernible differences in the types of legal problems that the poor and non-poor experience, with poor populations generally seeing greater incidents of land rights, family, debt, and social welfare problems. By comparison, the non-poor experience higher rates of employment, personal injury and criminal problems and problems with neighbours.

Learn more about the Poverty and Access to Justice Report by Dr. Martin Gramatikov, Rupinder Kaur, Isabella Banks, and Dr. Kavita Heijstek-Ziemann and published by the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law here: https://www.hiil.org/news/is-development-worsening-the-justice-gap/.

Read the report in full here: https://www.hiil.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/HiiL-report-Poverty-and-Access-to-Justice-web.pdf.

World Justice Project 2021 Index Shows Decline in Rule of Law Around the World

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The World Justice Project (WJP) has published the 2021 Rule of Law Index. The WJP Rule of Law Index offers original data on the rule of law as experienced and understood around the world. This latest Rule of Law Index covers 139 countries and jurisdictions (including 11 new countries and the entire European Union), and includes data from national surveys from over 138,000 households and 4,200 legal practitioners and experts.

A global press release by the World Justice Project offers the following highlights from this year’s publication:
• Over 80% of the world’s population “live in a country where rule of law is weakening”; and,
• The areas showing the most significant declines from the global surveys relate to the timeliness of justice, absence of discrimination, constraints on government powers, and civic space.

The World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2021 is available here: https://worldjusticeproject.org/our-work/research-and-data/wjp-rule-law-index-2021.