Spotlight: the JUPITER assessment, transforming justice systems
With support from G&I, the World Bank’s Global Program on Justice and Rule of Law introduced the Justice Pillars Towards Evidence-based Reform (JUPITER) assessment, a universally applicable country-based framework for measuring the effectiveness of a country’s judiciary. This pioneering framework benchmarks judicial effectiveness in access to justice, efficiency, and quality.
The first implementation of the assessment, JUPITER in Liberia, has been transformative. It provided a clear, data-backed picture of the justice system's performance, marked by long wait times, ambiguous jurisdictional boundaries, limited access to legal information, high costs, insufficient judicial services in rural areas, and inadequate staffing and resource allocation. The assessment has helped foster an informed policy dialogue among stakeholders. It laid the groundwork for prioritizing and sequencing justice reforms, ensuring a collaborative approach to improvements to judicial services.
JUPITER's success in Liberia has sparked interest across Africa. The recent assessment of South Sudan’s justice system found the formal judicial system largely inaccessible to citizens, especially to women and in the country’s rural areas. Some 80% of its civil and criminal cases are resolved through customary mechanisms, which offer more accessible and culturally attuned dispute resolution. Recommendations included building better, mutually reinforcing linkages between the statutory and customary courts; strengthening judicial independence and accountability; making courts more affordable and accessible; and enhancing judicial efficiency and reducing delays.
Next, Kenya is now looking to adopt the JUPITER methodology to enhance their own judicial systems. The World Bank's efforts are setting a precedent for the region, paving the way for a more just and equitable future.
