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1. Purpose of the Guide

Building and strengthening the “rule of law” in developing nations, particularly countries in transition or emerging from a period of armed conflict, has become a central focus of the work of the United Nations. As a result, there is growing demand throughout the United Nations system to better understand the delivery of justice in conflict and post-conflict situations and the impact of developments in this area. The United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in cooperation with other United Nations departments, agencies, funds and programmes, have developed an instrument to monitor changes in the performance and fundamental characteristics of criminal justice institutions in conflict and post-conflict situations. The instrument consists of a set of indicators, the United Nations Rule of Law Indicators. This Guide describes how to implement this instrument and measure these indicators.

The United Nations Rule of Law Indicators and this Guide are part of an emerging body of empirically based approaches to measuring the strengths and effectiveness of law enforcement, judicial and correctional institutions. The instrument, in contrast to some other measurement tools, is designed to highlight apparent successes and shortcomings within institutions and to monitor changes over time within countries. It is not meant to support direct comparisons between countries or rank them. The instrument refers, as it should, to all relevant international human rights and criminal justice norms and standards, but is not designed to assess compliance with such norms and standards. Nor is the instrument a substitute for a detailed assessment of the capacity or performance of criminal justice institutions, including for programmatic purposes.

The instrument is to be implemented in collaboration with national Governments and potentially adopted by them as an ongoing monitoring mechanism. Participating countries will find this instrument very useful for monitoring their own progress in developing their criminal justice institutions and strengthening the rule of law.

The instrument will also provide and summarize accurate information which the United Nations, donors and development partners will be able to use to plan and monitor the impact of their efforts to build the capacity of criminal justice institutions and, more generally, strengthen the rule of law. Additionally, the process of implementing the indicators will strengthen relationships between the United Nations and participating national Governments, relationships that are crucial to the Organization’s objectives of promoting peace and security in conflict and post-conflict situations and building sustainable criminal justice institutions that provide equal access to justice for all individuals.

The Guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to implement the instrument, with United Nations support, in a conflict or post-conflict setting. It is meant for first-time users of the instrument who have a general knowledge of the United Nations system, previous experience working in such situations, a good knowledge of criminal justice institutions and a familiarity with social sciences research methods.