Category Justice Metrics

New Discussion Paper Highlights the Importance of People-Centered Justice Data

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A recently published paper is drawing attention to the need for more people-centered justice data in order to support decision-making by policymakers, funders, innovators and other justice stakeholders. Weak data can serve to undermine progress. Making the shift to more effective justice innovations and facilitating better justice investment strategies requires an understanding of the types of justice problems that people commonly face as well as the ways that these justice problems impact people’s lives. Available justice data does not yet meet these standards. “Grasping the Justice Gap” discusses these and other key messages and offers insights on failing justice data ecosystems and how to build effect data ecosystems for people-centered justice.

Grasping the Justice Gap: Opportunities and Challenges for People-Centered Justice Data by Peter Chapman and published by the World Justice Project and Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies is available online here: https://530cfd94-d934-468b-a1c7-c67a84734064.filesusr.com/ugd/6c192f_33364b9803b645b8a4fa17433edcb13d.pdf.

New American Academy of Arts & Sciences Report Examines Data Collection in the Civil Justice Sector

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A new report published by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences explores data collection and civil justice. The Measuring Civil Justice for All – What Do We Know? What Do We Need to Know? How Can We Know It? report is an output from the Data Collection and Legal Services for Low-income Americans sub-project. It is one of several publications by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences aimed at making justice accessible. The discussion on acquiring much-needed information about access to civil justice is organized into four topics:

(1) Liberating Civil Justice Data
(2) Data Use Agreements
(3) Alternative Strategies for Accessing Data
(4) Moving toward a Civil Justice Data Commons.

The final Measuring Civil Justice for All – What Do We Know? What Do We Need to Know? How Can We Know It? report is available online here: https://www.amacad.org/publication/measuring-civil-justice-all.

For other publications from the Making Justice Accessible Initiative, visit: https://www.amacad.org/topic/democracy-justice.

World Justice Project Publishes 2020 Rule of Law Index

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The World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2020 is now available. This report offers comparable, independent data on rule of law around the world, including insights on changes in rankings within regional and economic groupings as well as changes to individual rule of law factors for each country. Data in the 2020 report was gathered from more than 130,000 household surveys and 4,000 legal expert surveys in 128 countries.

In addition to the 2020 Rule of Law Index, the World Justice Project has also released an interactive, user-friendly data map with global and country insights, data highlights and other information from the 2020 Index.  The World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2020 and the Rule of Law Index 2020 Interactive Data Map are both available here: https://worldjusticeproject.org/our-work/research-and-data/wjp-rule-law-index-2020.

New Report Presents Findings from Largest Ever Legal Needs Survey in England and Wales

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Findings from the largest ever legal needs survey to be carried out in England and Wales are now available in the recently published “Legal Needs of Individuals in England and Wales” report. A summary report has also been released. Data in the reports are based on a survey of over 28,000 people in England and Wales in 2019. This representative population sample covers more than 30 different legal issues. This is also the first legal needs study in England and Wales to apply Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidance for the development of the survey.

This legal needs survey was commissioned by the Law Society and the Legal Services Board. The summary report and full report can be accessed online here: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/research-trends/legal-needs-of-individuals-in-england-and-wales-report/.

New Report Reveals Extent of Civil Justice Problems Worldwide

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The World Justice Project has published its first Global Insights on Access to Justice report, which presents comparable data on experiences of everyday legal problems and access to justice by people around the globe. The report highlights a range of noteworthy findings, including the pervasiveness and frequency of civil justice problems worldwide and that most people do not go to courts or seek legal assistance from lawyers when trying to resolve their problems.

Based on surveys carried out in more than a 100 countries, the report found that almost half –49%— of people experienced at least one legal problem within the last two years. Overall, the most common types of problems were consumer problems, housing problems, and problems related to money and debt. The Global Insights report also emphasizes the adverse impacts of legal problems on peoples’ physical and mental health, as well as the significant access to justice barriers that people face when trying to deal with their legal problems.

The data in Global Insights report derives from the World Justice Project’s General Population Poll (GPP), which was carried out in 101 countries and jurisdictions in 2017 and 2018 with a sample of 1,000 respondents in each country (and over 100,000 people worldwide).

Global Insights on Access to Justice 2019 is available on the World Justice Project website here: https://worldjusticeproject.org/our-work/research-and-data/global-insights-access-justice-2019.

OECD and Open Society Foundations Publish Guide for Legal Needs Surveys

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A new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Open Society Foundations provides a framework for the development, implementation and evaluation of legal needs surveys to measure access to civil justice. Tools and indicators to assess aspects of civil justice systems have been slow to develop, in particular when compared to criminal justice systems.  The newly published Legal Needs Surveys and Access to Justice report offers guidance to create and assess legal needs surveys that is based in learnings and best practices gleaned from a review of more than 20 years of legal needs surveys carried out throughout the world

The three, central dimensions of access to justice that form the bases of the evaluative legal needs framework in the report include:

  1. The nature and extent of unmet legal and justice needs;
  2. The impact of unmet legal and justice needs on individuals, the community and the state; and
  3. How specific models of legal assistance and dispute resolution are utilised to meet needs.

The Legal Needs Surveys and Access to Justice report is available online here: https://www.oecd.org/governance/legal-needs-surveys-and-access-to-justice-g2g9a36c-en.htm.

 

National Action Committee Publishes New Report on Canada’s Progress on Justice Development Goals

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A recently released report by the national Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters (Action Committee) offers insights into new developments, research, initiatives and other efforts that are contributing to improvements in access to justice in Canada. This report represents the most recent review by the Action Committee of Canada’s progress on nine goals that are deemed essential for better access to justice. The report tracks achievements during 2018 using the Justice Development Goals as a common framework for coordinating efforts, sharing innovations, and measuring progress on access to justice.

Canada’s nine Justice Development Goals are to:

  • Address Everyday Legal Problems
  • Meet Legal Needs
  • Make Courts Work Better
  • Improve Family Justice
  • Work Together
  • Build Capacity
  • Innovate
  • Analyze and Learn
  • Improve Funding Strategies

The new Action Committee report, “Working Toward Accessible Justice: Tracking Progress on the JDGs in 2018” is available online in English here: http://www.justicedevelopmentgoals.ca/sites/default/files/2018jdgsworkingtorwardsa2jreport.pdf.

Vous pouvez télécharger << Travaillent pour une justice accessible : Suivi des progrès réalisés sur les objectifs de développement en matière de justice au Canada en 2018 >> ici : http://www.justicedevelopmentgoals.ca/sites/default/files/2018ojdstravaillentpoura2jrapport.pdf.

Learn more about the Justice Development Goals here: http://www.justicedevelopmentgoals.ca/goals.

Pour plus d’informations sur les objectifs de développement en matière de justice, cliquez ici : http://www.justicedevelopmentgoals.ca/fr.

UVic’s Access to Justice Centre for Excellence Publishes New Reports that Explore Key Learnings for Enhanced Empirical Justice Research

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What can the province of British Columbia learn from initiatives in other jurisdictions about enhancing justice data quality and expanding empirical research, evaluation and measurement? The “Learning from Justice Metrics Models in Other Jurisdictions” report produced by Tim Roberts and Associates Consulting for the University of Victoria Access to Justice Centre for Excellence (UVic ACE) looks at initiatives that offer insight on conducting empirical justice research. The report includes findings from Australia, the United States, the Netherlands, the U.K., and Canada on how different initiatives have enhanced data quality, driven data sharing, and facilitated an expanded research and evaluation agenda. “Learning from Justice Metrics Models in Other Jurisdictions” is available on the UVic ACE website here: https://ajrndotco.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/2a1cb-acejusticemetricsmodelsinotherjurisdictions-feb2019.pdf.

UVic ACE’s “A Supreme Lack of Information” report published in March, 2019 explores the lack of information available on civil cases initiated in B.C.’s Supreme Court. This study is a follow up to a 2015 study published by the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice (CFCJ) that found significant information gaps in court records in B.C.’s Supreme Court. The report identifies the purpose of this new study by UVic ACE as:

  • To identify the challenges encountered in conducting the CFCJ ‘Attrition Study’, and explore their significance
  • Consider what changes would need to be made to data collection processes in the B.C. Supreme Court in order to better answer the original study’s questions and meet the research objectives, and to provide a high level plan for such changes, and
  • Identify any legal, financial or administrative problems or complications that would be encountered in making such changes to the system

The “A Supreme Lack of Information” study was carried out by Tim Roberts and Associates Consulting for UVic ACE. It is available on the UVic ACE website here: https://ajrndotco.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/48fa3-attritionfollow-upreport-feb2019.pdf.

2019 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index Now Available

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The World Justice Project has published its annual report on adherence to rule of law worldwide. The 2019 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index includes data gathered through expert surveys carried out in more than 120 countries. The eight categories for rule of law performance for the countries included in the Index are:

  • Constraints on Government Powers
  • Absence of Corruption
  • Open Government
  • Fundamental Rights
  • Order and Security
  • Regulatory Enforcement
  • Civil Justice; and
  • Criminal Justice

Overall, the measure for “Constraints on Government Powers” showed a marked decline globally, signalling a troubling rise in authoritarianism. “Criminal Justice” also saw a significant decline over the past year followed by “Open Government” and “Fundamental Rights.” Highlights from the new World Justice Project Rule of Law Index are available in the Press Release here: https://worldjusticeproject.org/news/wjp-rule-law-index-2019-global-press-release. The 2019 Rule of Law Index can be downloaded from the World Justice Project website here: https://worldjusticeproject.org/our-work/publications/rule-law-index-reports/wjp-rule-law-index-2019.

Measuring Unmet Legal Need Across the World

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A recently published “Measuring the Justice Gap” methodological paper by the World Justice Project and the Task Force on Justice highlights the urgency of addressing the global access to justice gap, a problem that currently sees an estimated 5 billion worldwide with unmet legal needs.  The paper discusses categories of justice need, presents the objectives and principles guiding the assessment of the justice gap, and offers details on question design, methods and definitions included in the justice gap measurement framework. “Measuring the Justice Gap” is available online here: https://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/documents/Measuring%20the%20Justice%20Gap_WJP%20Update_Feb2019_Final-updated_0.pdf.