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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:08 pm
Time: 8:08 pm
Results for informal justice systems
2 results foundAuthor: United Nations Development Programme Title: Informal Justice Systems: Charting a Course for Human Rights-Based Engagement Summary: until recently, informal justice systems (ijs) were relatively invisible in development partner-assisted justice interventions. yet, ijs form a key part of individuals’ and communities’ experience of justice and the rule of law, with over 80 percent of disputes resolved through informal justice mechanisms in some countries.1 ijs may be more accessible than formal mechanisms and may have the potential to provide quick, relatively inexpensive and culturally relevant remedies. given this central role and increasing government and partnering donor interest in ijs, it is key to build an understanding of ijs and how best to engage with them for the strengthening of human rights, the rule of law and access to justice. in many countries, there is a prevalence of ijs, which demands that governments and development partners take these systems more seriously, especially with regard to ijs and women’s and children’s rights. this does not mean that development organizations should promote ijs at the expense of a functioning unitary legal order or that they should oppose the existence of ijs. rather, it is recognition that ijs are an empirical reality, albeit a complicated one. at the same time, growing numbers of countries are requesting un assistance to engage with ijs and strengthen their ability to provide justice and legal protection. the un’s approach to engagement on rule of law and access to justice is as an effort to ensure international norms and standards for all who come into contact with the formal and informal justice system, including victims, witnesses or alleged offenders. ijs are complex and deeply varied; many drawing their normative structures and legitimacy from the local communities and society in which they operate. the un does not presume that engagement with ijs can adopt a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. like all legal mechanisms, ijs function within changing societies and communities and can be responsive to the particular individual circumstances of a case in the application of cultural norms. the obligation to respect, protect and fulfil human rights, including through the provision of justice and legal remedies, extends to formal and informal systems alike. Both types of justice systems can violate human rights, reinforce discrimination, and neglect principles of procedural fairness. ijs in many contexts deal with issues that have a direct bearing on the best interests of women and children, such as issues of customary marriage, custody, dissolution of marriage, inheritance and property rights. the operative questions surrounding ijs and the rights of women and children are significant. While it is especially important to note that the structures, procedures and substantive decisions of some ijs neither safeguard nor promote women’s rights and children’s rights, the existence of ijs does not of itself contravene international human rights principles. indeed, ijs can provide avenues for the delivery of justice and the protection of human rights, particularly where formal justice systems lack capacity, and ijs can enjoy widespread community legitimacy and support. the study seeks to identify how engagement with ijs can build greater respect and protection for human rights. it highlights the considerations that development partners should have when assessing whether to implement programmes involving ijs, the primary consideration being that engagement with the ijs neither directly nor inadvertently reinforces existing societal or structural discrimination – a consideration that applies to working with formal justice systems as well. the study also examines the value of ijs in offering, in certain contexts, flexible structures and processes, cost-effectiveness and outreach to grassroots communities. Details: New York: UNDP, UN Women: UNICEF, 2013. 398p. Source: Internet Resourse: Accessed April 6, 2013 at: http://www.unwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Informal-Justice-Systems-Charting-a-course-for-human-rights-based-engagement-Full-Study.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.unwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Informal-Justice-Systems-Charting-a-course-for-human-rights-based-engagement-Full-Study.pdf Shelf Number: 128305 Keywords: Dispute ResolutionHuman RightsInformal Justice SystemsMediation |
Author: Gauri, Varun Title: How do Local-Level Institutions Promote Development? An Exploratory Essay Summary: This paper develops a framework and some hypotheses regarding the impact of local-level, informal legal institutions on three economic outcomes: aggregate growth, inequality, and human capabilities. It presents a set of stylized differences between formal and informal legal justice systems, identifies the pathways through which formal systems promote economic outcomes, reflects on what the stylized differences mean for the potential impact of informal legal institutions on economic outcomes, and looks at extant case studies to examine the plausibility of the arguments presented. The paper concludes that local-level, informal legal institutions: (i) can support social substitutes for the enforcement of contracts, though these substitutes tend to be limited in range and scale; (ii) are flexible and could conceivably be adapted to serve the interests of the poor and marginalized if supportive organizational and social resources could be brought to buttress the legal claims of the disempowered; and (iii) are more likely to support personal integrity rights than the positive liberties that are also constitutive of development as freedom. Details: Washington, DC: The World Bank Group, 2009. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 11, 2019 at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/18109?locale-attribute=es Year: 2009 Country: International URL: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/18109?show=full Shelf Number: 154115 Keywords: Case StudiesFormal Justice SystemsInformal Justice SystemsLegal InstitutionsLocal GovernmentLocal-Level |