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02 / 04Justice Snapshot

Establish the baseline.

A rapid institutional and system baseline against which reform can be planned and measured.

Download the two-page briefingPDF · 1.3 MB Discuss a Justice Snapshot
A district town seen from above – its streets and public buildings.
From local level to national levelJustice Snapshot

Where it looksWhole justice chain, with institutional and geographical detail

  1. Police
  2. Prosecution
  3. Courts
  4. Prisons
  5. Legal aid
01Produces
Action Matrix and time-bound Roadmap
02Scope
Whole justice chain, with institutional and geographical detail
03Timeframe
Rapid – scope and timing agreed for each assignment
04Builds on
Data institutions already collect
01Questions it answers

The questions it is built to answer.

The first four were set out by Sri Lanka’s Minister of Justice as the questions the national Snapshot should help government ask.

  1. Where are services needed most?

  2. Where are resources insufficient?

  3. What reforms should come first?

  4. How do we measure progress?

  5. Where are justice services located – and where are the gaps?

  6. What has changed since the last Snapshot?

02The approach

A baseline you can update.

Measured once to set the baseline. Measured again to show the direction and pace of change.

A Justice Snapshot uses data that justice institutions already collect and puts them together in a way that is easy to see and understand. It shows how justice services work in practice, from local level to national level.

Its distinctive feature is the combination of mapping the location of justice services with data visualisations that show how the system is actually working. The result is a neutral, evidence-based account of the paths people take to justice, the gaps and obstacles they face, and what government can do to address them.

The Snapshot is designed to be repeated. Core indicators can be measured again at agreed intervals to show the direction and pace of change. National experts help collect, analyse and validate the evidence, building capacity to maintain it.

Justice Snapshot work includes South Central Somalia, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka, with an ongoing assignment in Lao PDR.

How it works

  1. Step

    Establish the baseline

    Collect and consolidate existing administrative data across the justice chain and identify critical gaps.

  2. Step

    Map and visualise

    Locate services, compare resources against demand and show variation hidden by national averages.

  3. Step

    Agree priorities

    Bring institutions together around a common evidence base.

  4. Step

    Measure again

    Repeat the core indicators to track what has changed.

03Scope

What it examines.

Each institution measured on its own terms – and in relation to the others, because dysfunction in one is often caused or amplified by another.

  • Courts
  • Prosecution
  • Police
  • Prisons
  • Legal aid
  • ADR and community justice
  • Location of justice services
04Outputs

What you receive.

Produces
Action Matrix and time-bound Roadmap.

  1. 01

    National Justice Snapshot

    A concise, evidence-based picture of the justice system at a fixed point in time.

  2. 02

    Service mapping

    The location of justice services mapped, combined with data visualisations showing how the system is actually working.

  3. 03Core output

    Action Matrix

    Priorities drawn from the evidence and set out as a sequenced set of actions.

  4. 04Core output

    Time-bound Roadmap

    Agreed indicators, targets and review dates for measuring implementation over time.

05In practice

One clear picture, in their words.

For many years, justice sector reforms have often been challenged by fragmented data, disconnected planning, and the absence of one clear picture. The Justice Snapshot responds directly to that challenge.

Minister of Justice, Sri LankaSri Lanka

“The Justice Snapshot is not a judgement from outside, it is a tool for Lao PDR, adapted to your own context and priorities… When we look ahead we need a clear view, when we look back we need to be honest about what we see …”

European Union, VientianeLao PDR · 2026

“The combined effect is to produce a compelling, because neutral, narrative about paths people take to justice, the gaps and obstacles they face and what government can do to address them.”

UNDP Sri LankaSri Lanka · 2024
Dashboard · Justice Snapshot Sri Lanka · 2025
Justice Snapshot Sri Lanka dashboard: a map of Sri Lanka’s provinces and districts beside nine province maps – Central, Eastern, North Central, North Western, Northern, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva and Western.
Fig. 02 – Justice services mapped, province by provinceJustice Snapshot Sri Lanka
06Experience

Where it has been used.

Real assignments, with national partners.

See every country on the map

07Used in

Configured for three applications.

Every product can be commissioned on its own as part of core justice reform. The Justice Snapshot is also configured for these three applications:

→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?