Category SDG 16

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

ajrn1 Leave a comment

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.

New Report Highlights People-Centred Justice Initiatives and Good Practices around the World

ajrn1 Leave a comment

The Justice Action Coalition (JAC), a group comprised of over 30 countries and organizations seeking to advance equal access to justice for all, last week released a new report entitled, “Good Practices and Commitments on People-Centered Justice”. The report highlights the commitments and work of JAC members in furthering people-centered access to justice. Good practices and initiatives highlighted in the report include:

  • Canada’s National Action Plan on Open Government (2022-2024) which includes pledges to share justice-related data, the use of plain language, and efforts to ensure access to justice for underrepresented and marginalized populations.
  • Columbia’s Diferencia Foundationwhich opened Alternative Conflict Resolution Centers in Bogotá and Medellín, with two target populations: LGBTI peoples and indigenous communities. These centres advance legal empowerment and the peaceful resolution of conflicts for historically discriminated peoples in Columbia.  
  • Portugal’s Justice Ministry has released a centralized, digital platform – RAL+ – that allows for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) case management. Using RAL+, Portuguese citizens can seek workplace mediation, request information, and monitor their cases. Justice professionals can track cases in real time and readily interact with parties and representatives.
  • In 2023, Indonesia created a Paralegal Justice Academy, which trains village chiefs to be paralegals. In the months since it launched, 300 chiefs have been trained, aiding local dispute resolution across the country.
  • The Solomon Islands’ Paralegalism Project trains and deploys paralegals to remote communities, educating community members on their rights and access to justice services. Since 2019, 25,441 people have been reached with this program.
  • The United States’ USAID Program in 2023 launched a Rule of Law Innovation, Design Experimentation, Acceleration, and Solutions (IDEAS) Lab. The Lab supports access to justice initiatives across the globe – for instance, facilitating a local justice needs survey in Kyrgyzstan, and starting an online community justice house in Ukraine.
  • Supported by the Dutch government, UNDP and UN Women have brought mobile legal aid services to Tanzania and Uganda, helping over 20,000 women and girls with claims related to land use, gender-based violence, marriage, and divorce.

You can read the full report in English here: https://cic.nyu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/JAC-Good-Practices-and-Commitments-on-People-Centered-Justice-June-2023.pdf.

Atlas of Legal Needs Surveys Gives Interactive Look at More Than 90 Legal Needs Studies

ajrn1 Leave a comment

The World Justice Project (WJP) has published an interactive data map and directory of legal needs surveys. The Atlas of Legal Needs Surveys is a newly published WJP resource that provides information on publicly available legal needs surveys carried out in more than 100 countries and jurisdictions. Information on legal needs surveys in the Atlas dates back to 1993. New legal needs surveys will be added to the Atlas as they become available.

To learn more about the Atlas of Legal Needs or to download the Atlas as an Excel file, visit: https://worldjusticeproject.org/our-work/research-and-data/atlas-legal-needs-surveys.

On October 14, 2021, the WJP will host a global launch for the 2021 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index. For more information, or to register, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/world-justice-project-rule-of-law-index-2021-global-launch-registration-168956985893.

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

ajrn1 Leave a comment

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.

Investing In Justice Saves More Money Than It Costs – New CFCJ Report

ajrn1 Leave a comment

The Canadian Forum on Civil Justice (CFCJ) has published a major report that examines the return on investment in access to justice in several regions, including North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Australia and Asia. The report concludes that, “across a diversity of justice programs, services and mechanisms around the world, spending on justice results in significant economic and other benefits that generally significantly exceed the value of the investment.” In most cases, the rate of return on investment in justice services and programs is between CAD $9 and $16 for every CAD $1 that is spent.

This new report is one of ten international background reports commissioned by the Task Force on Justice to help inform their efforts towards equal access to justice for all by 2030 (UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.3).

Investing in Justice – A Literature Review in Support of the Case for Improved Access is available for download on the CFCJ website here: https://cfcj-fcjc.org/wp-content/uploads/Investing-in-Justice-A-Literature-Review-in-Support-of-the-Case-for-Improved-Access-by-Lisa-Moore-and-Trevor-C-W-Farrow.pdf.

New Report Reveals Extent of Civil Justice Problems Worldwide

ajrn1 Leave a comment

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.

Justice for All: Canadian Launch of the Report of the Task Force on Justice

ajrn1 Leave a comment

On May 30th, 2019, the Global Centre for Pluralism will be hosting the Canadian launch of the Task Force on Justice’s “Justice for All” report. The event is being hosted in partnership with the Task Force on Justice and the International Development Research Centre. The “Justice for All” report explores the extent of the global justice gap, the cost of injustice, the benefits of investing in justice, along with other important, topical access to justice issues.

The launch of the report will take place from 8:30-10:00 am EDT in Ottawa and will also be live-streamed. This launch is one of many events that has been organized as part of the Open Governance Partnership Summit (Tuesday 28 – Friday 31 May, 2019): https://www.justice.sdg16.plus/ogpjustice.

Additional information on the Open Governance Partnership Summit and the launch of the report can be found here: https://www.pluralism.ca/event/justice-for-all-canadian-launch-of-the-report-of-the-task-force-on-justice/.

The “Justice for All” report is available in English, French and Spanish here: https://www.justice.sdg16.plus/report.

Task Force on Justice Report Explores the Global Justice Gap

ajrn1 Leave a comment

“Justice for All”, a new report by the Task Force on Justice published in April 2019, explores the global justice gap and, in particular, the impacts on poor and marginalized peoples. The report proposes a people-centered approach to justice, which starts with an understanding of people’s justice needs and designs solutions to respond accordingly. The Task Force identifies a global justice gap with three dimensions:

  • At least 253 million people live in extreme conditions of injustice
  • 5 billion people cannot resolve their everyday justice problems
  • 5 billion people are excluded from the opportunities the law provides

Overall, two-thirds of the world’s population lack meaningful access to justice. The report notes that the burden of this injustice is not randomly distributed across populations. Structural inequalities are reflected in the justice gap, meaning that vulnerable groups find it hardest to access justice. The report also discusses the benefits of investing in justice, makes recommendations for action and calls on all partners to come together in a global and sustained effort to deliver justice for all by 2030.

“Justice for All”, the report of the Task Force on Justice is available online here: https://cic.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/task_force_on_justice_report_conf_version_29apr19_1_1_1_compressed.pdf .

A “Justice for All” fact sheet, press release and graphics are available here: https://www.justice.sdg16.plus/report.