Projects

Project Information

Access To Justice Program

Borrower

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan

The Proposal

A financing package comprising the following three loans (i) two policy loans consisting of ¥29,685,000,000 (equivalent to US$243.2 million at the exchange rate of ¥122.06 = US$1.00 as of 10 November 2001) from ADB's ordinary capital resources and Special Drawing Rights (SDR) 67,914,000 (US$86.8 million equivalent) from ADB's Special Funds resources to support the Access to Justice Program (AJP), and (ii) a loan of SDR15,648,000 (US$20 million equivalent) from ADB's Special Funds resources to finance technical assistance (TA) for Institutional Development for Access to Justice.

Classification

Poverty Intervention

Thematic:
Good Governance
Gender and Development

Social Issues

The AJP is a key part of nationwide efforts to positively influence the exercise of political, administrative and judicial power so as to improve the accessibility of public entitlements for all citizens, in particular the poor, women, and minorities. Although no adverse social impact is anticipated, the AJP will actively prompt critical public and professional debate about important social issues and will be one modest part of larger efforts to transform the culture of governance in Pakistan.

Gender and Development

The AJP will tackle gender issues through the creation of competent legal, judicial and police institutions through which existing basic/constitutional rights can be implemented fairly and accountably. Through the reformed Law Commission as well as the Women's Commission, the AJP will promote research and debate on the quality and equality of existing laws and through this help build constituencies for change and build consensus for reform. The institutional focus will articulate gender interests through the focus on the quality of services delivered by government and judicial institutions and, on the "demand" side, on the empowerment focus of the AJP. Concrete steps will include revision of service rules for judges to remove gender biases and facilitate the induction of more women judges, offering of special courses for potential women judges, and training courses in gender sensitization for the judiciary and police, coupled with service rules that promote gender sensitization. Civil society groups engaged in legal empowerment activities will be eligible to tap funding under the Legal Empowerment Fund (LEF). Thus, through a combination of policy changes, capacity building, and support for civil society initiatives, the AJP will begin to address serious gender issues in the legal system.

ADB Financing

Loan Amount and Terms

1. A loan of ¥29,685,000,000 (equivalent to US$243.2 million) from ADB's ordinary capital resources with amortization over 15 years, including a grace period of 3 years, an interest rate determined in accordance with ADB's LIBOR-based facility, a commitment charge of 0.75 percent per annum, a front end fee of 1.0 percent (the fee will be capitalized in the loan), conversion options, and such other terms and conditions as are substantially in accordance with the those set forth in the draft Loan Agreement presented to the Board.
2. A loan of SDR67,914,000 (US$86.8 million equivalent) from ADB's Special Funds resources with a term of 24 years, including a grace period of 8 years. Interest of 1.0 percent per annum will be charged during the grace period, and 1.5 percent per annum thereafter.

Executing and Implementing Agencies

The Ministry of Law, Justice, Human Rights and Parliamentary Affairs (MOL) will be the Executing Agency. A program management unit (PMU) will be established in MOL. At the Federal level, the Implementing Agencies will be (i) the Law Commission, (ii) the Federal Ombudsman, (iii) the Federal Judicial Academy, and (iv) the Ministry of Interior. At the provincial level, the Province Implementing Agencies will be the departments of law and home, with the planning and development department/board playing a coordination role. The provincial implementing agencies will work with (i) the provincial ombudsman, (ii) the High Court, (iii) the provincial public safety commission, as appropriate.

Procurement

The proceeds of the policy loan will be used to finance the foreign exchange costs of items produced in and from ADB member countries other than items specified in the prohibited items list and imports financed by other bilateral and multilateral sources.

The Technical Assistance Loan

A TA cluster loan will support Institutional Development for Access to Justice. It will be implemented in three phases, allowing each phase to respond to particular needs during implementation of the AJP. Activities in the first phase will focus on (i) governance structures, systems, and capacities to articulate policy/laws; (ii) public knowledge and empowerment; (iii) performance and accountability; (iv) policy impact and innovation; and (v) supporting further legal and policy reform. MOL will be the Executing Agency.

The TA loan of SDR15,648,000 (US$20 million equivalent) from ADB's Special Funds resources will have a term of 32 years, including a grace period of 8 years. Interest of 1.0 percent per annum will be charged during the grace period, and 1.5 percent per annum thereafter.

Technical Assistance Grant

A TA grant equivalent to $900,000 will be provided from the ADB-funded TA program to support the PMU and an independent monitoring and evaluation system.