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What is a Justice Audit?

An independent, systematic, data-driven examination of how a justice system functions.

Fromwhat seems to be happening Towhat the evidence shows is happening.

01What it is

An instrument for seeing how justice actually works.

Justice data often sit in separate institutions. Teams drawn from the international network maintained by Governance and Justice Group (GJG) and Justice Mapping (JM), with national partners embedded throughout, bring the evidence into one picture.

  1. What it is

    A system diagnostic that identifies pressure points and turns evidence into a prioritised Action Matrix and a time-bound Roadmap.

  2. What it does

    Connects data that normally sit in separate institutional silos and examines the justice system as a whole.

  3. Why it works

    Combines quantitative data with institutional knowledge, observation, practitioner and user experience, geographic analysis and verification.

How it works The seven-stage process What it leaves behind
02The whole justice chain

Dysfunction in one institution may be caused – or amplified – by another.

The methodology examines the justice chain as a system. A court backlog may reflect problems in other institutions.

Illustrative example – select a pressure point

Pressure at CourtsAdjournments and a growing backlog at court.

  1. 1Prisons Delays can increase the remand population and pressure on prison capacity.
  2. 2Prosecution Files age, witnesses are lost and cases weaken.
  3. 3Legal aid Lawyers’ time is consumed by repeated hearings.
  4. 4Police Suspects wait longer in custody for a first hearing.
Fig. 02 – An illustrative justice chain: police, prosecution, courts, prisons, legal aid, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and community justice. Select an institution to explore possible effects elsewhere in the system. Illustrative dynamics

“A dysfunction in the system is seldom the fault of any one institution or actor.”

Bangladesh Justice Audit methodology – no scoring or ranking of countries or institutions
03What it consolidates

Seven kinds of evidence. One picture.

Its distinguishing strength: the Justice Audit consolidates a wealth of disparate evidence into actionable analyses. Separately, each layer shows part of the system. Aligned, they show where it is under pressure.

  1. 01Institutional data
  2. 02Case data
  3. 03Resources
  4. 04Infrastructure
  5. 05Geography
  6. 06Practitioner knowledge
  7. 07User experience

“Experience shows that justice data may be scattered, but they exist.”

Justice Snapshot Sri Lanka, methodology

Into actionable analyses that reveal

  1. 01What should happen
  2. 02What actually happens
  3. 03Where the system is under pressure
  4. 04Why
  5. 05What can realistically be changed
04How it works

Seven stages. One established process.

  1. Stage 01 / 07

    Planning

    Agree the scope, the priority questions and the institutions involved with government and justice partners – and assemble a team built around the context.

    OutputScope, questions and team

  2. Stage 02 / 07

    Framing

    Translate reform priorities, commitments or benchmarks into measurable questions and indicators across the justice chain.

    OutputMeasurable questions and indicators

  3. Stage 03 / 07

    Collecting

    Gather institutional, case-level and administrative data alongside observation, practitioner interviews and user surveys, with national researchers embedded throughout.

    OutputInstitutional and primary data

  4. Stage 04 / 07

    Interrogating

    Test and analyse the data: compare resources against demand, map geographic variation and trace where cases and people are delayed. Inconsistencies are identified, not concealed.

    OutputThe diagnostic

  5. Stage 05 / 07

    Designing

    Turn the findings into practical responses – a prioritised, sequenced Action Matrix and a time-bound Roadmap with indicators.

    OutputAction Matrix and Roadmap

  6. Stage 06 / 07

    Validating

    Verify the evidence and the proposed actions with the institutions concerned, so the findings are owned rather than imposed.

    OutputEvidence verified with institutions

  7. Stage 07 / 07

    Transferring

    Hand over data, tools and skills so national institutions can maintain the baseline and update it themselves.

    OutputNational capacity

05What it leaves behind

Not simply a report.

The outputs are agreed for each assignment. The Action Matrix and Roadmap turn the evidence into priorities, responsibilities and measures of progress.

Baseline Dataset Visualisation Diagnostic Priorities Action Matrix and Roadmap Indicators National capacity a working evidence base

  1. 01

    Baseline

    A fixed point against which reform can be planned and measured.

  2. 02

    Dataset

    Integrated institutional and primary data, disaggregated where available by gender, age, disability and geography.

  3. 03

    Visualisation

    Maps and charts that make the whole system visible to decision-makers.

  4. 04

    Diagnostic

    Where the system is under pressure – and why.

  5. 05

    Priorities

    A short list of what to change first.

  6. 06

    Action Matrix and Roadmap

    Prioritised actions, responsible institutions, timeframes and measures of progress.

  7. 07

    Indicators

    Agreed measures of progress, set before reform begins.

  8. 08

    National capacity

    National teams able to maintain and update the evidence.

06The Justice Audit difference

As it is meant to work. As it actually works.

A legal framework describes what should happen. A Justice Audit examines what happens in practice.

Traditional assessment Justice Audit
01What does the law say?What happens in practice?
02Institution by institutionThe whole justice chain
03National averagesGranular geographic and institutional data
04Report findingsActionable measures
05Consultant assessmentEvidence verified with institutions
06One-off studyA baseline capable of being updated
07RecommendationsPrioritised actions and indicators
08Data collectedCapacity transferred
09Secondary-source dataInstitutional data plus primary research, disaggregated where available by gender, age, disability and geography

From evidence to actionSee the Action Matrix and Roadmap

07The evidence cycle

One evidence cycle. Repeat measurement.

The cycle supports Justice in 100 Days, Justice Audit – EU Accession Edition and Justice Audit – Investment Edition. Repeat measurements show what has changed and inform the next priorities.

  1. 01Map
  2. 02Collect
  3. 03Interrogate
  4. 04Compare
  5. 05Visualise
  6. 06Prioritise
  7. 07Measure again

Repeat measurements can update the baseline.

08In practice · Case note

Bangladesh: the first national Justice Audit – all 64 districts.

The Bangladesh Justice Audit combined institutional data with citizen, court-user and practitioner evidence. It covered all 64 districts and cases entering the system in 2016, with national and district views.

Evidence combined
Institutional data, with citizen, court-user and practitioner evidence.
Resolution
The whole system, nationally and for each of the 64 districts.
Transparency
The underlying baseline data were made accessible.
Integrity
Data inconsistencies were explicitly identified rather than concealed.
What followed
The Government expanded Village Courts nationally and commissioned a Court Audit.

With the GIZ Rule of Law Programme, funded by BMZ and UK aid. Surveys by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Explore the Bangladesh Justice Audit dashboard
  • 64districts examined – every case entering the system in 2016
  • 209%mean prison occupancy against capacity, 31 December 2016
  • >30%estimated reduction in backlog from Court Audit Case Management Orders (CMOs)
Dashboard · Bangladesh Justice Audit · 2018 (2016 data)Live dashboard
Bangladesh Justice Audit dashboard (2016 data): six hex-tile maps of Bangladesh’s districts comparing prison measures – occupancy as a percentage of capacity (national mean 209%), population turnover rate (6.3), share under trial less than six months (59%), drug-charged share of prisoners (29%), prisoners per external toilet (91) and incarceration per 100,000 (49).
Fig. 08a – Prison measures by districtLive dashboard capture
  • Cases in courts and agencies
  • Police investigations
  • People: arrests and prison

Circle area ∝ volume

Police investigations (FIR): 216,370PoliceFIR216,370Chief Judicial / Metropolitan Magistrate Court: 1,449,219Chief Judicial / MetroMagistrate Court1,449,219District / Metropolitan Sessions Court: 690,964District / MetroSessions Court690,964Village Court: volume not shownNari o Shishu: 179,209High Court Division: 464,872High CourtDivision464,872Appellate Division: 23,306NLASO legal aid (civil + criminal): 111,024People arrested: 541,052Peoplearrested541,052Prison admissions: 485,274Prisonadmissions485,274CHARGESFRAMEDCR CASESBROUGHT DIRECTLYTO COURTTRANSFERREDVillage CourtTRANSFERRED · VOLUME NOT SHOWNTRANSFERREDCASES BROUGHTDIRECTLY TO COURTNari o Shishu179,209CASESAPPEALS &PETITIONSAPPEALS &PETITIONSAPPEALSAppellateDivision23,306CASESSUPREME COURTNLASO legal aidcivil + criminal111,024CASESARRESTSUNDER TRIALSENTENCEDAverage dailyprison population76,613PEOPLEPolice investigations (FIR): 216,370Chief Judicial / Metropolitan Magistrate Court: 1,449,219Nari o Shishu: 179,209Village Court: volume not shownDistrict / Metropolitan Sessions Court: 690,964High Court Division: 464,872Appellate Division: 23,306People arrested: 541,052Prison admissions: 485,274NLASO legal aid (civil + criminal): 111,024CASESPolice investigations (FIR)216,370INVESTIGATIONSCHARGES FRAMEDChief Judicial / MetroMagistrate Court1,449,219CASESNari o Shishu179,209CASESTRANSFERRED OR BROUGHT DIRECTVillage CourtTRANSFERRED · VOLUME NOT SHOWNTRANSFERREDDistrict / MetroSessions Court690,964CASESAPPEALS & PETITIONSHigh Court Division464,872CASESAPPEALSAppellate Division23,306CASESPEOPLEPeople arrested541,052PEOPLEFROM POLICE INVESTIGATIONSUNDER TRIALPrison admissions485,274PEOPLEUNDER TRIAL AND SENTENCEDAverage daily prison population76,613PEOPLELEGAL AIDNLASO legal aid111,024CASESCIVIL + CRIMINAL
View the data
StageVolumeUnit
Police investigations (FIR)216,370investigations
Chief Judicial / Metropolitan Magistrate Court1,449,219cases
District / Metropolitan Sessions Court690,964cases
High Court Division464,872cases
Appellate Division23,306cases
Nari o Shishu179,209cases
Village CourtNot shown
NLASO legal aid (civil + criminal)111,024cases
People arrested541,052people
Prison admissions485,274people
Average daily prison population76,613people
Fig. 08b – Simplified national criminal case flow, 2016: police to prisonBangladesh Justice Audit
  • Cases in courts and agencies
  • Police investigations
  • People: arrests and prison

Circle area ∝ volume

Police investigations (FIR): 29,056PoliceFIR29,056Chief Judicial / Metropolitan Magistrate Court: 195,743Chief Judicial / MetroMagistrate Court195,743District / Metropolitan Sessions Court: 126,756District / MetroSessions Court126,756Village Court: volume not shownNari o Shishu: 17,756NLASO legal aid (civil + criminal): 5,459People arrested: 53,175Peoplearrested53,175Prison admissions: 57,389Prisonadmissions57,389CHARGESFRAMEDCR CASESBROUGHT DIRECTLYTO COURTTRANSFERREDVillage CourtTRANSFERRED · VOLUME NOT SHOWNTRANSFERREDCASES BROUGHTDIRECTLY TO COURTNari o Shishu17,756CASESAPPEALS &PETITIONSAPPEALS & PETITIONSNLASO legal aidcivil + criminal5,459CASESARRESTSUNDER TRIALSENTENCEDAverage dailyprison population7,367PEOPLEPolice investigations (FIR): 29,056Chief Judicial / Metropolitan Magistrate Court: 195,743Nari o Shishu: 17,756Village Court: volume not shownDistrict / Metropolitan Sessions Court: 126,756People arrested: 53,175Prison admissions: 57,389NLASO legal aid (civil + criminal): 5,459CASESPolice investigations (FIR)29,056INVESTIGATIONSCHARGES FRAMEDChief Judicial / MetroMagistrate Court195,743CASESNari o Shishu17,756CASESTRANSFERRED OR BROUGHT DIRECTVillage CourtTRANSFERRED · VOLUME NOT SHOWNTRANSFERREDDistrict / MetroSessions Court126,756CASESPEOPLEPeople arrested53,175PEOPLEFROM POLICE INVESTIGATIONSUNDER TRIALPrison admissions57,389PEOPLEUNDER TRIAL AND SENTENCEDAverage daily prison population7,367PEOPLELEGAL AIDNLASO legal aid5,459CASESCIVIL + CRIMINAL
View the data
StageVolumeUnit
Police investigations (FIR)29,056investigations
Chief Judicial / Metropolitan Magistrate Court195,743cases
District / Metropolitan Sessions Court126,756cases
Nari o Shishu17,756cases
Village CourtNot shown
NLASO legal aid (civil + criminal)5,459cases
People arrested53,175people
Prison admissions57,389people
Average daily prison population7,367people
Fig. 08c – Simplified criminal case flow for Dhaka district, 2016Bangladesh Justice Audit
→Start a conversation

Start with the question you are facing.

Start with a conversation about a specific problem. Choose the one closest to yours and tell us a little about your context.

  1. 01Could a Justice Audit work in your country?
  2. 02Planning justice reform in the first 100 days?
  3. 03Preparing for EU accession?
  4. 04Examining justice and the investment environment?
  5. 05Need to understand court backlog or prison overcrowding?