A Tool For Justice: The Cost Benefit Analysis of Legal Aid
Following a joint project between the World Bank and the International Bar Association (IBA) Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee, in September 2019 the two organizations published a report entitled “A Tool For Justice: The Cost Benefit Analysis of Legal Aid”.
Starting with the premise that the world faces a global justice gap (where the poor and vulnerable are the most affected), the project surveys around 50 cost-benefit analyses from around the world to conclude that the benefits of legal aid and related services significantly outweigh their costs.
The surveyed cost-benefit analyses cover past and proposed legal aid programs covering civil and common law jurisdictions in developed and developing countries, in both large and small jurisdictions. The studies largely suggest that the benefits of legal aid outweigh the costs: for the individual involved, the community, the justice sector, as well as the economy and the society.
“Legal aid” is defined as the provision of legal advice, assistance, and representation to people or groups who cannot afford to pay privately for that legal help. It is mainly provided by lawyers and paralegals to help address specific legal problems and is funded, in whole or part, by the state and includes court fee waivers and other financial concessions. Legal aid may include legal education and access to legal information, as well as other services provided through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and restorative justice processes.
According to research quoted in the report, legal needs are predominately civil in nature. The most common types of problems for which legal aid services are sought relate to consumer rights, government benefits, housing, employment issues, land and property disputes, family issues, conflicts with neighbors, and debt relief.
The audience for the report is legal aid policymakers and their advisors, and the report also provides them with a practical step-by-step guide on how to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of different policy alternatives.
The development context of this study is clear. The report notes that the justice gap undermines human development, reinforces the poverty trap, and imposes high societal costs. In fact, justice is a common factor that runs through all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is critical to end poverty, reduce inequality, and promote peace and security. SDG16, and in particular targets 16.3 and 16.b, seek to measure the extent to which the rule of law and equal access to justice for all are promoted, as well as the extent to which non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development are enforced.
The conclusions of the report can be summarized as follows:
Starting with the premise that the world faces a global justice gap (where the poor and vulnerable are the most affected), the project surveys around 50 cost-benefit analyses from around the world to conclude that the benefits of legal aid and related services significantly outweigh their costs.
The surveyed cost-benefit analyses cover past and proposed legal aid programs covering civil and common law jurisdictions in developed and developing countries, in both large and small jurisdictions. The studies largely suggest that the benefits of legal aid outweigh the costs: for the individual involved, the community, the justice sector, as well as the economy and the society.
“Legal aid” is defined as the provision of legal advice, assistance, and representation to people or groups who cannot afford to pay privately for that legal help. It is mainly provided by lawyers and paralegals to help address specific legal problems and is funded, in whole or part, by the state and includes court fee waivers and other financial concessions. Legal aid may include legal education and access to legal information, as well as other services provided through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and restorative justice processes.
According to research quoted in the report, legal needs are predominately civil in nature. The most common types of problems for which legal aid services are sought relate to consumer rights, government benefits, housing, employment issues, land and property disputes, family issues, conflicts with neighbors, and debt relief.
The audience for the report is legal aid policymakers and their advisors, and the report also provides them with a practical step-by-step guide on how to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of different policy alternatives.
The development context of this study is clear. The report notes that the justice gap undermines human development, reinforces the poverty trap, and imposes high societal costs. In fact, justice is a common factor that runs through all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is critical to end poverty, reduce inequality, and promote peace and security. SDG16, and in particular targets 16.3 and 16.b, seek to measure the extent to which the rule of law and equal access to justice for all are promoted, as well as the extent to which non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development are enforced.
The conclusions of the report can be summarized as follows:
- Policymakers are increasingly looking for ways to address the justice gap. In a world where data increasingly drives policy making, and where budgetary pressures can crunch social spending, evidence-based proposals that demonstrate the net benefits of legal aid are useful and persuasive.
- The cost-benefit analyses surveyed in the report suggest that the benefits of legal aid outweigh the costs. Without providing a conclusive response on the economic desirability of any specific legal aid policy, the results from the survey suggest overwhelmingly that the benefits of legal aid investments greatly outweigh the costs.
- Cost-benefit analyses rely on a variety of assumptions regarding the costs and benefits of legal aid, and more work is needed to develop consistency among these assumptions. As more studies are conducted, this consistency is likely to develop over time.
- International consensus is growing on the utility of the use of cost-benefit analyses for legal aid and related access to justice programs. Critical gaps in the literature should be filled before robust cost-benefit analysis can be conducted for all legal aid policies and interventions.
- To assist interested policymakers and those who influence them, the report provides a practical step-by-step guide on how to conduct a cost benefit analysis of different policy alternatives. With this guide, the report hopes to make a contribution to the research in the field of the net benefits of legal aid.