This reports aims to answer the question of why, and to what extent, do different dimensions of the rule of law impact upon developmental processes. It reviews the evidence for the following five categories:
- International legal frameworks: The ability of international humanitarian law to provide protection for both refugees and internally displaced persons is at best, questionable, and at worst, inadequate. There is comparatively limited robust evidence to demonstrate the impact of greater human rights protection as a driver of development, and that international human rights treaties are effective in improving human rights protection around the world. Evidence for the success and benefits of international criminal law is inconsistent. However, persuasive evidence was found suggesting the rule of law’s positive effects on commerce and economic growth.
- Effectiveness of national institutions providing accountability for use of state power: Research shows that legislatures in developing countries find it difficult to fulfil their horizontal accountability functions, either because of constitutional design or de facto executive dominance. No evidence was found to show a positive relationship between de facto increases in horizontal accountability in developing countries and improvements in the development outcomes of interest (state?building, peace?building, equitable service delivery and economic growth).
- Effectiveness of national institutions guaranteeing citizen rights before the law and dispute resolution: Many countries do not have adequate statutory provision to protect and promote equal rights for women, and formal justice often does not provide predictable and efficient dispute resolution for poor people. Legal empowerment programmes, including paralegal services, improve poor people’s access to dispute resolution through both non?state mediation and legal assistance in the formal justice system. Perceptions that high?ranking officials are able to act with impunity are common worldwide.
- Rule of law & economic growth: Evidence suggests positive correlation between the rule of law and growth, but a consensus is lacking as to which legal institutions are important in determining the shape and form of a feasible and effective rule of law reform process. A variety of studies show a correlation between regulatory environments that affect the ability to start a business, hire workers, protect investors, enforce contracts and exit business, investment levels and growth. However, there is less evidence available as to the specific interventions needed to create these environments and their success or otherwise.
- Non?state actors and promotion of the rule of law: In developing countries most justice services are provided by non?state mechanisms, and some evidence suggests that citizens often prefer these to state justice providers because they have greater confidence in their quality. Some commentators argue that legal pluralism undermines the rule of law because it generates uncertainty, while others suggest that codification of customary law enhances its predictability at the expense of flexibility and local relevance.
On the state of the evidence and gaps in the evidence base, the report concludes that the surveyed literature on the rule of law contains some high quality studies. However, the bulk of the research (with the notable exception of the study of the relationship between the rule of law, doing business and economic growth) is constituted of studies of an ‘observational?descriptive’ type and design. These are useful for identifying different dimensions of the rule of law, and for demonstrating the different meanings and applications of the law in different contexts. However, they are less well?suited to answering questions about the efficacy of particular rule of law reforms or interventions that may have been sponsored either by domestic actors or international donors. As such, this review concludes that the research community is asking the right questions, but is not yet able to provide findings of the type (and with the attached degree of confidence) that would most assist the donor community.
