Law and governance
Law and governance focuses on the role of law and legal processes in developing governmental institutions and policies that are both accountable to citizens and promote economic growth and development.
Although there is agreement that the ‘rule of law’ (the principle that government should act both through law and according to law) ought to be the cornerstone of any democracy, in practice this poses significant conceptual challenges for development interventions. Globalisation and privatisation have meant that states have become increasingly interconnected with the private sector as both a regulator and, particularly in the case of public private partnerships, as a collaborator. This relationship brings a new challenge in the area of regulation and regulatory reform. However, despite this new challenge a continuing focus of law and governance is the need for legal accountability mechanisms that provide meaningful access to justice for citizens to challenge both the actions of the state and of private actors.
Although there is agreement that the ‘rule of law’ (the principle that government should act both through law and according to law) ought to be the cornerstone of any democracy, in practice this poses significant conceptual challenges for development interventions. Globalisation and privatisation have meant that states have become increasingly interconnected with the private sector as both a regulator and, particularly in the case of public private partnerships, as a collaborator. This relationship brings a new challenge in the area of regulation and regulatory reform. However, despite this new challenge a continuing focus of law and governance is the need for legal accountability mechanisms that provide meaningful access to justice for citizens to challenge both the actions of the state and of private actors.
- Bridging modernity and tradition: law and justice in Afghanistan
- The report presents bold policy alternatives to strengthen the rule of law in Afghanistan, including through formal and informal systems of justice. It notes that by acting in isolation, state and non-state institutions of justice are missing an opportunity to improve significantly the delivery of justice in this war-affected country. It then presents the case for "a hybrid model of Afghan justice" that articulates, in detail, a collaborative relationship between formal and informal institutions of justice.
