Justice aid update and lessons from latest evaluations of donor programming

Despite the increasing global movement advocating for people-centered justice approaches, recent aid statistics reveal that justice receives limited attention from donors, constituting a mere 1.4% of their aid. This sharply contrasts with the 4% of their budgets dedicated to justice within their own countries. Donor-funded justice programs primarily emphasize top-down institutional reform and capacity development within core justice institutions, typically implemented by consulting firms or international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

While these programs have achieved their objectives, sustained and significant positive impacts remain exceptional. Efforts to enhance access to justice through donor programs have not successfully delivered scaled-up people-centered justice services. Similarly, initiatives aiming to improve compliance with the rule of law and human rights norms have shown limited effectiveness.

This paper advocates for a shift in what and how donors fund justice. There is a growing body of evidence supporting the cost-effectiveness of approaches that prioritize scaled-up local service delivery, focusing on addressing people's justice needs from the outset. Immediate benefits can be realized, even without broader improvements in the normative rule-of-law framework. Similar to the shifts seen in education and health sectors, a move toward a service delivery approach is likely to entail a transition from outsourcing justice aid delivery to consulting firms or international NGOs to directly funding service provision, potentially through results-based pooled funding mechanisms.