Reforming Justice A Journey to Fairness in Asia

Despite the disappointing results of fifty years of judicial reform, evidence from Asia suggests that a shift in justice reform efforts could result in important progress being made. Livingston Armytage argues that reform should focus on promoting fairness and equity, as opposed to economic growth and good governance. Justice is constitutive to human wellbeing and cannot be trumped by economics. Finding a balance between utility and aggregate wellbeing on the one hand and equity and individual wellbeing on the other is at the crux of this important book.

1. Introduction; Part I. Judicial Reform Enterprise: 2. History and context; 3. Nature of reforms and critique; 4. Theories of reform; 5. Empirical evidence; Part II. Evaluation: 6. Development evaluation; 7. Evaluating judicial reform; Part III. Case Studies of the Asian Reform Experience: 8. ADB's judicial reform experience in Asia: 1990–2007; 9. AUSAID'S program in Papua New Guinea: 2003–7; 10. Voices of the Asian Pacific experience; 11. Conclusions; Annex A. Frameworks of measurement; Annex B. Empirical methodology and justification; Annex C. AUSAID inventory of documents; Annex D. Sample extracts of PNG newspapers: 2003–4.

Livingston Armytage is a specialist in judicial and legal reform, advising governments, courts and international development agencies on improving justice systems around the world. He has worked in senior roles on substantial reform programs for major development agencies in many developing countries from Afghanistan and Azerbaijan to Haiti, Palestine, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea.