Evaluation

Ongoing Evaluations
ADB Support to Law and Justice Reform

ADB support to draft sector specific laws began in the mid-1980s, and since the early 1990s over $420 million has been approved for projects focusing on law and justice reform (LJR). For ADB the legal system encompasses "the rights and obligations of any individual or private or public institution that is supported by formal or informal enforcement mechanisms," and access to justice is "a function of the relationship between institutions responsible for delivering entitlements (public goods and services) predictably, affordably, and accountably, and the ability of the poor to secure and sustain their access to key sets of assets." LJR is concerned with the legal framework and performance of justice institutions in relation to economic growth and poverty reduction.

The objective of this evaluation is to assess ADB’s performance in LJR and identify lessons from LJR strategies and implementation by ADB and multi- and bilateral agencies to guide future strategic and implementation prioritization. The evaluation will address three areas:

• strategic framework for LJR interventions,
• design, monitoring, and evaluation of LJR projects, and
• institutional, partnership, and financing modalities.

To assess success of LJR strategies and implementation, the evaluation will adopt the top-down and bottom-up methodology in ADB’s Guidelines for the Preparation of Country Assistance Program Evaluation Reports:

• from the top, assessing positioning, contribution to results, and ADB performance vis-à-vis the LJR priorities (through case studies on capacity development and access to justice) in selected countries with a sufficient number of interventions, and
• from the bottom, assessing the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of selected completed and ongoing projects.