A Zuckerman  (2000)
4 pages (122KB)

A recent survey examined problems with and reforms of civil justice in three common law nations — Australia, England, and the United States — and 10 civil law countries — Brazil, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. All reported a continuing search for ways to improve the delivery of justice, but in most the history of reform has been disappointing. Problems have proven hard to solve despite repeated attempts over long periods.

This PREM Note, produced for The World Bank, argues that civil justice reform efforts in industrial countries face common problems in increasing access to justice and reducing costs and delays. The Note examines how the countries considered have attempted to enhance access to justice and discusses causes of excessive costs and delays. The Note discusses the obstacles caused by opposition to reform and the strategies that can be used to combat this opposition. One of the more difficult problems is to remove the incentives that the legal profession has to protract and complicate litigation.

Source: Zuckerman, A. A. S., 2000, ‘Reforming Civil Justice Systems: Trends in Industrial Countries’, PREM Notes Number 46, October 2000, World Bank, Washington D.C.

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