Justice and Development Working Paper Series
39 items available
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The Justice and Development Working Paper Series serves as a platform for new and innovative thinking on justice and development that features work from World Bank and external authors. It is a product of the World Bank’s Justice Reform Practice Group, which generates knowledge and provides advice and assistance to Bank staff and Bank client countries on improving state and nonstate justice system institutions and mechanisms. Justice and Development disseminates the findings of works in progress to facilitate a more rapid exchange of ideas about development issues and justice reform.
Items in this collection
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Publication
Safety and Security at the Edges of the State: Local Regulation in Papua New Guinea’s Urban Settlements
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-06)Cities are key to reducing poverty and promoting shared prosperity in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Cities generally are sites for cultivating and fostering the accumulation of multiple forms of capital. In urban areas, these different kinds of capital can bring economic, social, and political benefits to national development. Nurturing all of these forms of capital and turning them into development outcomes require security and regulation. The social and economic regulation of informal urban settlements in PNG needs to be expressed territorially and spatially in residential neighborhoods, public spaces and amenities, and transport nodes and routes. Regulatory failure, on the other hand, can lead to communal disputes and escalating violence at all levels that pervert and destroy capital and threaten national stability. This report will describe, the chief institutions of local regulation that have taken distinctive forms: local committees and flexibly institutionalized leadership roles, all enacted through mediation and the spatial regulation of settlements and markets. This report focuses on the everyday institutional arrangements that regulate the safety and security of PNG’s urban settlements in relation to people and places where the reach of formal authorities is limited, dysfunctional, and or lacks legitimacy. -
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'Come and see the system in place': Mediation Capabilities in Papua New Guinea’s Urban Settlements
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016)Although Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) urban settlements and mixed neighborhoods have a reputation for endemic violence, many local observers report some improvements in urban safety and security over recent years. These are attributed to both political-economic factors, including economic growth, an improved employment outlook, and the successful removal of former raskols, or criminal gangs, by business-oriented settlers, and also to institutional factors, such as the failure of criminal gangs to become institutionalized and the ability of local leadership to prevent the escalation of ethnic conflict and youth-related crime.This report examines the capabilities of mediation institutions in mixed settlements where the majority of the population of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) largest cities live and work. This report focuses on mediation in mixed settlements, where the majority of the population of PNG’s cities live. Three dimensions of institutional capability are considered: i) efficiency (accessibility, affordability, timeliness, and sustainability), ii) power and authority, and iii) outcomes and legitimacy. Although the results are preliminary, as this initial investigation focused on, What is there and how it works, the research reveals significant differences in outcomes for different groups that need further clarification. -
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Just Buying the Peace?: Subnational Spending, Institutional Innovation, and the Political Order in Timor-Leste
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-12)In the wake of the country’s political crisis and ensuing outbreak of violence in 2006, the newly elected government of Timor-Leste embarked upon a fivefold increase in public spending. This initiative is widely seen as an exemplar of ‘buying the peace’, in this case, deploying petroleum wealth for the sole purpose of ‘offering cash payments and contracts to potential spoilers.’ This paper focused on the political, economic, and social conditions in the aftermath of the conflict that led elites to invest in institutions and governing domains where crucial social contests were occurring. -
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Trucks Under Siege : The Costs of Crime and Insecurity to the Transport Industry in Papua New Guinea
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-06-04)The Highlands Highway is a lifeline for the economy of Papua New Guinea. The transport and haulage industry is seriously affected by infrastructure and law and order constraints, but it has also found innovative ways to manage risks. This case study examines two locally owned, medium-sized haulage companies about the challenges they face. Their stories provide a fascinating look into what it takes to run a haulage firm in Papua New Guinea, and the day-to-day risks faced by managers, drivers, and other staff. The challenges include: generally poor road conditions suffering from insufficient investment, poor construction, and corrupt practices; claims for compensation from the many villages and landowner groups located along the Highlands Highway; and a buoyant black market in stolen fuel. The companies utilize a number of risk management techniques, including: constant electronic monitoring; high-tech equipment such as GPS mapping systems and truck modifications; employment of public relations or road liaison officers; high-cost insurance policies; paying the underfunded police to ensure its public service; workplace monitoring systems and procedures; investment in human resources and training; generous salaries for truck drivers; private security escorts; safe commuter transportation for local staff; specific measures to ensure safety of female staff; and reliance on international staff at senior levels. These measures incur increased business costs which are then passed onto consumers. As a result, business expansion is constrained and prospective new suppliers face barriers to market entry. -
Publication
Drivers of Crime and Violence in Papua New Guinea
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-05)Reports in both the national and international media and anecdotal evidence indicate that the prevalence of crime and violence is high in PNG, and presents an important obstacle to long-term development. A growing body of literature and data on the issue identify a diverse range of forms of crime and violence; from violence in the household to violent conflict between clans, and various forms of interpersonal violence. This violence has been linked to various factors, ranging from historical and cultural factors, to, more recently, economic drivers. Conflict and violence have historically been an integral part of social life in PNG. This briefing note presents an analysis of the drivers of violence and crime in PNG. An extensive data and literature review was undertaken by a World Bank team, following a scoping mission to PNG in December 2011. A follow-up mission to Port Moresby in October 2012 which included individual consultations with stakeholders as well as an experts meeting on Conflict and Fragility helped test and refine the analysis. The brief begins with a description of the role of conflict in PNG society, and of traditional mechanisms for managing conflict. Next, it discusses key stresses that increase the risk of violence in PNG. The fourth section examines how these stresses affect the capacity of institutions in PNG to manage the conflicts that come with rapid social and economic changes. The brief concludes with a summary of gaps in the current understanding of the stresses and drivers of violence in PNG. -
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The Socio-economic Costs of Crime and Violence in Papua New Guinea : Recommendations for Policy and Programs
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-05)At the request of the Prime Minister's office, between 2011-2013, the World Bank conducted a study to understand the social and economic costs of crime and violence in Papua New Guinea. The purpose of the study was to feed a national conversation about crime and violence and inform policy directions and program interventions. The findings of the study are summarized in this research and dialogue series. This brief outlines the policy and programming recommendations that emerge from the research. The recommendations are intended to provide information, possible policy approaches towards an ongoing dialogue on the issue of crime and violence and that they will fuel a growing coalition of state and civil society actors for an integrated response. -
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Gates, Hired Guns and Mistrust - Business Unusual : The Cost of Crime and Violence to Businesses in Papua New Guinea
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-05)High levels of crime and violence are widely viewed as a critical constraint to development in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The most casual discussion on the topic inevitably elicits stories of personal experiences of victimization, or those of friends or family. Reports of violent incidents appear in the media on a daily basis. Despite 10 years of strong economic growth, with an increase in GDP of over 8 percent in 2011, there is a perception is that crime and violence have an impact on the business climate in the country, and that the costs to development are significant. This paper is the fourth in a series produced by the World Bank as part of the study "Socioeconomic Costs of Crime and Violence in PNG". The aim of the study has been to conduct targeted data collection and mine existing information sources, creating new analyses, in order to feed an informed dialogue among key stakeholders in PNG, and to help the business community in their ongoing discussions. As such, the study provides an overview of costs according to key themes along with presenting relevant empirical evidence, rather than a detailed accounting. -
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Trends in crime and violence in Papua New Guinea
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-05)Crime and violence are widely viewed as posing a considerable challenge to development in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The full scale of crime and violence in PNG is difficult to assess, given the scarcity of national-level studies and a distinct urban bias in the available studies. Yet various commentators and surveys estimate that violence victimization rates in PNG are among the highest in the world. This briefing note presents some preliminary findings regarding the prevalence of crime and violence in PNG. It was prepared as part of a broader study to understand the socioeconomic costs of crime and violence to businesses, government agencies, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and households in PNG. The different data sources reviewed and the most significant challenges with the data available are noted in Annex 1. The challenges in partial data and questions concerning the methodology used for collecting and collating some of the data sets and data integrity call for some caution in interpreting the findings, in particular making generalizations about the wide diversity of provincial experiences on the basis of geographically limited data sets. -
Publication
Community Based Paralegalism in the Philippines: From Social Movements to Democratization
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-02-07)Community-based paralegalism has been active in the Philippines for the past 30 years, and yet its contribution to access to justice and the advancement of the rights and entitlements of the poor has been largely undocumented. This paper attempts to provide a framework study on the history, nature, and scope of paralegal work in the Philippines, based on the experience of 12 organizations that are active in the training and development of community-oriented paralegals. The study first provides a working definition of a community-based paralegal, and then examines the work of paralegals, their systems of accountability or lack thereof, and issues regarding recognition by the state and civil society actors. It also explores facilitating and hindering factors that aid or impinge upon the paralegals effectiveness. A major contributor to the work of paralegals was the democratization process after the overthrow of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and the continuing evolution of legal rights spurred by the relatively progressive constitution ratified in 1987. Three dimensions of paralegal s work are identified and explored, namely, building rights awareness, settling private disputes, and increasing state and corporate accountability. The study ends with conclusions and recommendations with regard to sustainability, monitoring and evaluation, funding, and the prospects for paralegal work over the long term. -
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Crimes and Disputes : Missed Opportunities and Insights from a National Data Collection Effort in Papua New Guinea
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-02)As in many developing countries, data collection has proved to be a considerable challenge in Papua New Guinea (PNG). A welcome effort at data collection on dispute incidence and personal security was made in PNG's household income and expenditure survey (HIES or the Survey), (2009-2010) an experience that also highlights some of the challenges of such an exercise. For the first time, the HIES asked questions about dispute incidence and personal security. The survey was administered in all provinces of PNG to a nationally and regionally representative sample of over 4,000 households, and provides comprehensive data about the socio-economic status of households. The results are representative at the level of the country's four regions (Southern, Highlands, Momase, and Islands) plus the metropolitan area (which comprises the major urban areas of National Capital District and Lae), as well as for a rural or urban breakdown within each region. This briefing note highlights some of the main findings on dispute and personal security, noting which results need to be treated with caution. It also distils a number of lessons from this data collection effort.