Access to Justice in the
Arab Region: Challenges &
Lessons Learned
New York, May 2006
Introductory Notes on Access to
Justice in the Arab Region
Justice is a primary public virtue in Arab, Islamic
thought
Culture is defining feature, not determining one
Justice has taken on a socio-economic meaning in Arab
Socialist thought
Now challenged by
A political economy that is supportive of economic impunity &
liberalization pressures that are not careful about ….
Mechanisms of impunity on the ground
Politicized religious movements that are in defiance to glob.
Security concerns
Main Features of UNDP A2J
Programming in Arab Region
Infrastructure, esp. in conflict countries
Legal database
Court automation
Legal aid and counseling clinics
Capacity building
Of security & judicial personnel
Of civil society
Awareness raising on human rights
For security & justice personnel
For citizens & civil society
Strengths of Justice Systems in
the Arab Region
Constitutional Endorsement of Independence
of the Judiciary
In crisis & conflict countries, constitutional
processes that set reform framework for RoL
Regional recognition of need for justice reform
Region under pressure for security reform
Reasonably trained professionals which could
be used in other less fortunate countries of the
region
Weaknesses of Justice Systems
in the Arab Region
Diversity of legal traditions
Impunity of dependency on the
political/military elite
Society governed by non codified, customary
or religious dispute resolution mechanisms
Turf battles between ministries weakens
capacity (mandate, responsibility, resources…)
Weakly trained personnel (in substance &
management)
Poorly maintained records of entitlements &
transactions (high level of informality)
Trends in Access to Justice
Programming
Much interest in legal reform: belief that laws solve
problems
Much interest in security & judicial infrastructure
(physical & IT)
Less interest in institutional building for good
governance (efficiency, accessibility & accountability)
Capacity development without transformative impact
Increasing coordination (e.g. Egypt & Sudan)
Gender issues & religious context
Review of laws (regional initiative)
Dialogue with local leaders on compatibility issues (Su,Sy)
Gender empowerment (Ku, Bah, Mor)
Gender integration, not only mainstreaming
Rule of Law in Conflict
Countries (1)
Types of conflict countries in the AS Region
On-Going conflict with occupation (Palestine & Iraq)
Negotiated agreement & constitutional process on root
causes of conflict (Sudan & Somalia)
Fragile post conflict states (Yemen & Lebanon)
Rule of Law in Conflict
Countries (2)
Major Characteristics
Of course security concerns dominate
Conflict immersed in regional context
Internal structural causes of conflict
Failing states encourage political religious movements
Customary justice fills the vacuum
Disproportionate harm by gender, juvenile, internally
displaced
Lessons Learned 1
A general wariness about “external” zeal for reform
leads to less committed national partners
Result: Increase Arab knowledge of the problem &
engage Arab networks of reformers; create policy
networks of stakeholders
UNDP Regional Program:
Center for Rule of Law & Integrity
Public Prosecution Network
GfD Initiative with OECD for judicial independence
Database (Egypt, Yemen, Iraq)
Lessons Learned 2
A bias towards legal reform & judiciary
training
Result: UNDP holistic approach of all
phases of the justice system
UNDP Holistic Approach
Strategy of reform, based on situation analysis & tree
analysis of causes (Jordan- UNDP EU USAID)
Phase One: legal reform, human resources, infrastructre
Phase Two: performance, civil society, economy
Chain of Phases of Justice
Normative Framework
Legal Awareness
Legal Aid & Counseling
Adjudication (Formal & Informal)
Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms
Enforcement
Oversight (internal & external)
Lessons Learned 3
In conflict countries in Arab states region:
Immediate recovery dwarfs institutional
building concerns
Transitional Justice awareness &
mechanisms are weak
Customary justice “the unknown”
Complementary Areas of Reform
Civil Service Reform Capacity Development Decentralization
Revenue Collection
Integrity & Anti Corruption: & Budgeting
HR Comm. & Ombudsmen
Policy Formulation E-Gov Restructuring
Political Economy: State, Private Sector, CBOs, Research
Last Thoughts
RoL in all state building & institution building
RoL in Poverty Reduction & MDGs
Monitoring Reform Interventions
Methods
Capacity
Program
Analysis & Reporting
Gender issues & marginalized groups
TRANSFORMATIVE CAPACITY
Thank you
Noha El-Mikawy, Ph.D.
Governance Policy Advisor
UNDP SURF-AS
Email: noha.el-mikawy@undp.org
Mobile Tel: +961-3-566683