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What is a Justice Audit?

An independent, systematic, data-driven examination of how a justice system functions.

Fromwhat seems to be happening Towhat the evidence shows is happening.

01What it is

An instrument for seeing how justice actually works.

Justice data often sit in separate institutions. Teams drawn from the international network maintained by Governance and Justice Group (GJG) and Justice Mapping (JM), with national partners embedded throughout, bring the evidence into one picture.

  1. What it is

    A system diagnostic that identifies pressure points and turns evidence into a prioritised Action Matrix and a time-bound Roadmap.

  2. What it does

    Connects data that normally sit in separate institutional silos and examines the justice system as a whole.

  3. Why it works

    Combines quantitative data with institutional knowledge, observation, practitioner and user experience, geographic analysis and verification.

How it works The seven-stage process What it leaves behind
02The whole justice chain

Dysfunction in one institution may be caused – or amplified – by another.

The methodology examines the justice chain as a system. A court backlog may reflect problems in other institutions.

Illustrative example – select a pressure point

Pressure at CourtsAdjournments and a growing backlog at court.

  1. 1Prisons Delays can increase the remand population and pressure on prison capacity.
  2. 2Prosecution Files age, witnesses are lost and cases weaken.
  3. 3Legal aid Lawyers’ time is consumed by repeated hearings.
  4. 4Police Suspects wait longer in custody for a first hearing.
Fig. 02 – An illustrative justice chain: police, prosecution, courts, prisons, legal aid, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and community justice. Select an institution to explore possible effects elsewhere in the system. Illustrative dynamics

“A dysfunction in the system is seldom the fault of any one institution or actor.”

Bangladesh Justice Audit methodology – no scoring or ranking of countries or institutions
03What it consolidates

Seven kinds of evidence. One picture.

Its distinguishing strength: the Justice Audit consolidates a wealth of disparate evidence into actionable analyses. Separately, each layer shows part of the system. Aligned, they show where it is under pressure.

  1. 01Institutional data
  2. 02Case data
  3. 03Resources
  4. 04Infrastructure
  5. 05Geography
  6. 06Practitioner knowledge
  7. 07User experience

“Experience shows that justice data may be scattered, but they exist.”

Justice Snapshot Sri Lanka, methodology

Into actionable analyses that reveal

  1. 01What should happen
  2. 02What actually happens
  3. 03Where the system is under pressure
  4. 04Why
  5. 05What can realistically be changed
04The seven stages

Seven stages. One established process.

  1. Stage 01 / 07

    Planning

    Agree the scope, the priority questions and the institutions involved with government and justice partners – and assemble a team built around the context.

    OutputScope, questions and team

  2. Stage 02 / 07

    Framing

    Translate reform priorities, commitments or benchmarks into measurable questions and indicators across the justice chain.

    OutputMeasurable questions and indicators

  3. Stage 03 / 07

    Collecting

    Gather institutional, case-level and administrative data alongside observation, practitioner interviews and user surveys, with national researchers embedded throughout.

    OutputInstitutional and primary data

  4. Stage 04 / 07

    Interrogating

    Clean and analyse the data. Inaccuracies and inconsistencies are identified, not concealed. Final data sets (for police, courts, prisons etc) formally agreed by the institutions concerned as representing best available data.

    OutputThe diagnostic

  5. Stage 05 / 07

    Designing

    Turn the findings into practical responses – a prioritised, sequenced Action Matrix and a time-bound Roadmap with indicators.

    OutputAction Matrix and Roadmap

  6. Stage 06 / 07

    Validating

    Verify the evidence and the proposed actions with the institutions concerned, so the findings are owned rather than imposed.

    OutputEvidence verified with institutions

  7. Stage 07 / 07

    Transferring

    Hand over data, tools and skills so national institutions can maintain the baseline and update it themselves.

    OutputNational capacity

05What it leaves behind

Not simply a report.

The outputs are agreed for each assignment. The Action Matrix and Roadmap turn the evidence into priorities, responsibilities and measures of progress.

Baseline Dataset Visualisation Diagnostic Priorities Action Matrix and Roadmap Indicators National capacity a working evidence base

  1. 01

    Baseline

    A fixed point against which reform can be planned and measured.

  2. 02

    Dataset

    Integrated institutional and primary data, with available breakdowns by gender, age, disability and geography.

  3. 03

    Visualisation

    Maps and charts that make the whole system visible to decision-makers.

  4. 04

    Diagnostic

    Where the system is under pressure – and why.

  5. 05

    Priorities

    A short list of what to change first.

  6. 06

    Action Matrix and Roadmap

    Prioritised actions, responsible institutions, timeframes and measures of progress.

  7. 07

    Indicators

    Agreed measures of progress, set before reform begins.

  8. 08

    National capacity

    National teams able to maintain and update the evidence.

06The Justice Audit difference

As it is meant to work. As it actually works.

A legal framework describes what should happen. A Justice Audit examines what happens in practice.

Traditional assessment Justice Audit
01What does the law say?What happens in practice?
02Institution by institutionThe whole justice chain
03National averagesGranular geographic and institutional data
04Report findingsActionable measures
05Consultant assessmentEvidence verified with institutions
06One-off studyA baseline capable of being updated
07RecommendationsPrioritised actions and indicators
08Data collectedData, tools and skills transferred to national teams
09Secondary-source dataInstitutional data and primary research, with available breakdowns by gender, age, disability and geography

From evidence to actionSee the Action Matrix and Roadmap

Repeat measurements show what has changed and inform the next priorities.

How each Audit is measured again over time
07In practice

Bangladesh: the first national Justice Audit – all 64 districts.

The Bangladesh Justice Audit combined institutional data with citizen, court-user and practitioner evidence. The Government expanded Village Courts nationally and commissioned a Court Audit.

With the GIZ Rule of Law Programme, funded by BMZ and UK aid. Surveys by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

  • 64districts examined – every case entering the system in 2016
  • 209%mean prison occupancy against capacity, 31 December 2016
  • >30%estimated reduction in backlog from Court Audit Case Management Orders (CMOs)
→Your question

Start with the question you are facing.

Choose the question closest to yours and tell us a little about your context.

  1. 01Could a Justice Audit work in your country?
  2. 02Planning justice reform in the first 100 days?
  3. 03Preparing for EU accession?
  4. 04Examining justice and the investment environment?
  5. 05Need to understand court backlog or prison overcrowding?