Reforming Justice - Balancing Efficiency and Accessibility through Judicial Map Reform

Overview & Synopsis

Judicial map reforms refer to an emerging stream of reform programs that attempts to improve the responsiveness of the justice system by adjusting the courts’ location, size, and jurisdiction to demographic and socio-economic factors. Building on the World Bank’s experience in supporting client countries reform their judicial maps, this Brief lays out a framework for the design and implementation of such programs. It explains why countries attempt to revise their judicial maps, how they do it, and what types of policy interventions it entails. It also highlights the significance of judicial and demographic data, the need for clearly defined criteria, and the importance of communication and impact evaluation for the successful implementation of reforms. The Brief shows how countries that struggle to deliver effective justice across their territories can lay their court networks in a way that maximizes reach with limited resources. It also discusses the growing role digital solutions could play in judicial map reforms