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Rule of Law Reform in Post-Conflict Countries: Operational Initiatives and Lessons Learnt

Author: K Samuels
Date: 2006
Size: 63 pages (237 KB)

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Summary

What lessons have been learnt in the area of rule of law reform? This literature review from the World Bank provides an overview of common operational initiatives and policy approaches and synthesises the key challenges faced in fragile and post-conflict states. It concludes that, despite two decades of experimenting, the field lacks a common agreement on - the goals of rule of law reform, how different aspects should be sequenced to avoid them working against each other and what sorts of strategies are effective.

Although there is growing focus on rule of law in post-conflict countries, there is little guidance on how to approach it, nor how the strategy adopted ought to differ from that in non-conflict countries. This situation is reinforced by the lack of coherent and systematic studies evaluating rule of law programming, which has led to a focus on short term outputs in evaluations and program design, rather than longer term outcomes.

Rule of law reform in the post-conflict context has only minimally impacted on the complex and somewhat intangible social end goals associated with rule of law reform. While reform appears to have been moderately more successful in the non-conflict context, there is insufficient analysis or understanding to easily adapt those positive experiences to the post-conflict context.

• The field remains ad hoc, with little centralised or institutionalised strategy or expertise.
• There is little coordination and little prioritisation - different actors have taken forward different programs with little knowledge of the local context.
• The focus on formal institutions has largely resulted in shell-like institutions, un-enforced and poorly understood legislation, and judges and police with little commitment.
• There is a lack of coherent and systematic studies evaluating rule of law programming – especially cross country evaluations and comprehensive case studies of all the rule of law programs in a country.
• Many negative lessons have emerged from practice, but are frequently overlooked because of the way in which reform is undertaken by a multiplicity of uncoordinated actors and projects.

A comparative field project, based on systematic results-based case-study evaluations and drawing on expertise knowledge, could contribute substantially to the evolution of the field of rule of law reform. There is an urgent need for more systematic discussion of how institutions evolve and how they can become self-enforcing.

• Understanding interdependence and how rule of law problems may be linked is fundamental to being able to appropriately sequence reforms.
• An in-depth understanding is required of both what is taking place in the post-conflict environment, and what was in place before the conflict, to determine what sorts of changes would be sustainable.
• A realistic timeframe for re-creating a working criminal justice system following serious armed conflict with formal courts, trained judges and a retrained police force, is close to twenty-years.
• It would be useful to develop (and evaluate) new strategies to take advantage of the informal structures and at the same time encourage appropriate reforms.
• It seems essential to develop new approaches to the planning and implementation of rule of law reform, through more coherent and coordinated planning strategies, and through different delivery systems.

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Source: Samuels, K., 2006, 'Rule of Law Reform in Post-Conflict Countries: Operational Initiatives and Lessons Learnt', Social Development Papers, no. 37, Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Unit, World Bank, Washington
Author: The World Bank, http://www.worldbank.org