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As the SDGs become reality, countries continue to seek for options to meet the new goals and to keep track of their progress. This includes efforts related to the new Goal 16, “Justice and Peace”. Achieving the SDGs requires implementation in many areas. Today, courts in many countries are undergoing reforms, are interested in hearing about new trends in court operations elsewhere and in tracking court performance. The World Bank’s new publication “Good Practice for Courts—Helpful Elements for Good Court Performance and the World Bank’s Quality of Judicial Process Indicator (QJPI)” addresses this desire. Focusing on the 15 QJPI good practice areas, the publication reflects the findings from country studies and other reports from around the world that show how modern management approaches and advanced technologies provide new opportunities for courts and other justice sector agencies to modernize their operations to better reflect the changing needs of their communities as well as those of national and international markets. Simultaneously, the OECD, in collaboration with the Open Society Foundation, are focusing on collecting and highlighting innovative country approaches to promote access to legal and justice services as determinant of inclusive growth and contributor to the realization of Sustainable Development Goals.

Crime and violence impede development and disproportionally impact poor people in many countries across the world. Though crime and violence represent serious problems in many countries, less-developed countries experience particular concentrations, especially those that are characterized by fragile or less-trusted government institutions and pervasive insecurity. Under such circumstances, human, social, political, and economic development suffers. Research across the globe has shown that holistic approaches that focus on the entire spectrum of a government's crime response chain, ranging from crime prevention to enforcement, tend to have better outcomes than isolated interventions involving only the police or other individual government agency. To date, most of the Bank's investment in efforts to reduce crime have focused on crime prevention in the form of urban and social development programs. Investment and policy lending that support the improvement of police operations to reduce crime and develop stronger neighborhoods are more limited. To assist country teams and client counterparts in their efforts to develop effective, holistic responses against crime that include the police, justice reform staff in the Governance Global Practice teamed up with internationally recognized experts to compile evidence-based good practice information for developing effective police responses to crime. The resulting three part publication, titled Addressing the Enforcement Gap to Counter Crime: Investing in Public Safety, the Rule of Law and Local Development in Poor Neighborhoods outlines the impact of crime and violence on development and the poor in particular and explains a proven three-pronged approach to creating police agencies that work in collaboration with communities and other government and private service providers to identify crime problems, develop holistic and inclusive solutions the apply a restorative justice approach. The publication also outlines how such approach can be integrated into Bank projects and client country reform plans.

An effective and efficient justice system is essential for sustained economic growth. In a well-functioning, independent, and efficient justice system, decisions are taken within a reasonable time and are predictably and effectively enforced, and individual rights, including property rights, are adequately protected. Among other objectives, the efficiency of the judicial system is important for creating a good business climate, attracting foreign direct investment, securing tax revenues, and supporting economic growth. Research has shown that weak contract enforcement, for example, raises the cost of borrowing and shortens loan maturities, with a resulting negative effect on investment and GDP. Weak court enforcement systems have also been linked to late payments, which can lead to liquidity issues for companies and increase insolvency. Since the publication of the World Bank’s World Development Report 2005, the importance of well-functioning courts to strengthening the investment climate and ultimately to reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity has been brought to the forefront and become internationally recognized. Indicators of commercial court performance, and business community perceptions of and trust in the courts, are a part of the World Bank Group’s (WBG) country-level investment climate assessments and its influential Investment Climate Surveys and Doing Business reports. Court performance has also become an element of European Union (EU) and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) accession. Helping countries to improve commercial court operations and ensure improved accessibility and effective delivery of services are important components of the development assistance provided by the WBG. The Commercial Court and Enforcement Assessment Tool has been designed to assist assessment teams and client agencies in this effort.

Crime and violence impede development and disproportionally impact poor people in many countries across the world. Though crime and violence represent serious problems in many countries, less-developed countries experience particular concentrations, especially those that are characterized by fragile or less-trusted government institutions and pervasive insecurity. Under such circumstances, human, social, political, and economic development suffers. Research across the globe has shown that holistic approaches that focus on the entire spectrum of a government's crime response chain, ranging from crime prevention to enforcement, tend to have better outcomes than isolated interventions involving only the police or other individual government agency. To date, most of the Bank's investment in efforts to reduce crime have focused on crime prevention in the form of urban and social development programs. Investment and policy lending that support the improvement of police operations to reduce crime and develop stronger neighborhoods are more limited. To assist country teams and client counterparts in their efforts to develop effective, holistic responses against crime that include the police, justice reform staff in the Governance Global Practice teamed up with internationally recognized experts to compile evidence-based good practice information for developing effective police responses to crime. The resulting three part publication, titled Addressing the Enforcement Gap to Counter Crime: Investing in Public Safety, the Rule of Law and Local Development in Poor Neighborhoods outlines the impact of crime and violence on development and the poor in particular and explains a proven three-pronged approach to creating police agencies that work in collaboration with communities and other government and private service providers to identify crime problems, develop holistic and inclusive solutions the apply a restorative justice approach. The publication also outlines how such approach can be integrated into Bank projects and client country reform plans.

Ce document d’analyse U4 est destiné aux responsables politiques des pays en développement et à leurs citoyens, ainsi qu’aux partenaires U4 de la communauté des donateurs, et leur fournit un aperçu des éléments les plus sensibles à la corruption dans chacune des étapes de la procédure pénale, allant de la phase d’enquête, au procès et jusqu’à l’incarcération. Chaque chapitre est consacré à l’une des phases de la procédure pénale, établissant un panorama des principaux responsables impliqués, des tâches qu’ils effectuent, des risques de corruption les plus répandus et des outils d’évaluation disponibles, ainsi qu’une évaluation de la pertinence de ces outils lorsque cela est possible. Quelques approches de réduction des risques sont également présentées mais ce document porte surtout sur l’analyse et l’évaluation des risques. Les connaissances dont nous disposons actuellement sur la corruption dans les différentes étapes du système de justice pénale proviennent des expériences des pays développés. Les causes de la corruption sont néanmoins souvent les mêmes dans tous les pays. En utilisant les outils de mesure de la corruption disponibles, le défi qui se présente aux praticiens est d’identifier les sections pertinentes des évaluations générales qui traitent spécifiquement les risques de corruption liés au système de justice pénale. Ce document se conclut sur la nécessité de développer des outils intégrés d’évaluation des risques de corruption et de rendre les rapports d’évaluation accessibles. Seul une vis

This U4 issue paper provides policymakers in developing nations, their citizens, and U4’s partners in the donor community with an overview of where corruption is most likely to arise in the investigation, prosecution, trial, and incarceration stages of the criminal justice process. Each chapter focuses on a specific stage, providing a summary of the principal decision makers involved, the tasks they perform, the most common types of corruption risk, the tools available to assess the risks, and, where sufficient experience exists, an evaluation of the usefulness of these assessment tools. While some basic risk management approaches are noted, the emphasis is on analysis and assessment of problems. Much of what is known about corruption at the different stages of the criminal justice system comes from developed country experiences. In many cases, however, the drivers of corruption are the same across all countries. In using the available set of tools to assess corruption risks in criminal trials and appeals, the greatest challenge for practitioners is finding the relevant parts of general assessment tools that assess the particular corruption risks. The paper concludes with an appeal for integrated corruption risk assessment tools and accessible reporting. Only a sector-wide lens will allow identification of the linkages and dependencies within the criminal justice chain, providing a basis for targeted reform efforts and a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy.