Justice for the Poor
25 items available
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Justice for the Poor (J4P) briefing notes provide up-to-date information on current topics, findings, and concerns of J4P’s multi-country research. The views expressed in the notes are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the World Bank.
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Publication
'We Want What the Ok Tedi Women Have!' Guidance from Papua New Guinea on Women's Engagement in Mining Deals
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-09)Despite global gender equality gains in education, life expectancy, and labor force participation, two areas of persistent inequality remain: asset gaps and women's agency. In many developing countries, including Papua New Guinea (PNG), land and natural resources are citizens' key assets. This briefing note, centered on field research in north fly district explores the process of negotiation and the progress in implementation of the Community Mine Continuation Agreements (CMCAs). The purpose of the research and the resulting brief is to understand how the CMCAs came about, assess whether their promise is being realized in practice, and provide guidance for mining and gender practitioners looking to use mining agreements to improve development outcomes for women, both in PNG and further afield. Revised compensation agreements at the Ok Tedi mine, called CMCAs, concluded in 2007 are an encouraging innovation. In these revised CMCAs, women had a seat at the negotiating table and secured an agreement giving them 10 percent of all compensation, 50 percent of all scholarships, cash payments into family bank accounts (to which many women are cosignatories), and mandated seats on the governing bodies implementing the agreement (including future reviews of the agreement). The 2006-07 Ok Tedi negotiation process and the resulting CMCAs were internationally groundbreaking for having secured enhanced rights for women in legally enforceable mining agreements, even in a context of severe gender inequality. Nevertheless, the gender asset gaps that persist in the midst of the current global extractives boom highlight the need to engage women more proactively in mining agreements and support their ability to exercise greater agency over those resources. More attention to the principles and experiences of community-driven development, together with more local political economy analysis, will likely benefit women's engagement and outcomes. -
Publication
Vanuatu National Leasing Profile : A Preliminary Analysis
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-05)This note summarizes findings from an analysis of Vanuatu national leasing data drawn from the Vanuatu department of lands databases for the period of 1980-2010. It provides a preliminary indication of how much of Vanuatu is currently under lease, where land is being leased, how leased land is being used, the length of leases, and the extent that leases have been subdivided. The profile also highlights areas where data collection needs to be improved. -
Publication
Increasing Access to Justice for Women, the Poor, and Those Living in Remote Areas : An Indonesian Case Study
(Washington, DC, 2011-03)This briefing note outlines the reform process that produced these notable results, a process that began with targeted grassroots empowerment through engagement with PEKKA, an Indonesian civil society organization supporting women headed households. Formal justice sector institutions and local governments subsequently built on those efforts, with support from international development agencies. The note will outline the range of access-to-justice initiatives involving PEKKA, the Indonesian courts, government partners, and international agencies that have contributed to broader policy reform in the access-to-justice field. It will also describe a series of recent access-to-justice policy developments initiated by Indonesian government institutions and a summary of some key results, highlighting how small-scale pilots and research can provide empirical data on which national agencies can draw to strengthen national policy development and planning processes. The concept of access to justice focuses on two basic objectives of a legal system: 1) that it is accessible to people from all levels of society; and 2) that it is able to provide fair decisions and rules for people from all levels of society, either individually or collectively. -
Publication
Public Land Governance in Solomon Islands
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-02)In countries where a large proportion of the total land area is held customarily, reform questions around land and development often tend to focus on the customary estate. Evidence from Solomon Islands suggests that a focus on public land holdings, even when they are relatively small in land area, can yield outsized benefits. Publicly owned land regularly includes economically valuable land and urban land on which development pressure is high. In Solomon Islands, as much as 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) may be affected by how effectively urban public land is governed. -
Publication
Public Land Governance in Solomon Islands
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-02)In countries where a large proportion of the total land area is held customarily, reform questions around land and development often tend to focus on the customary estate. Evidence from Solomon Islands suggests that a focus on public land holdings, even when they are relatively small in land area, can yield outsized benefits. Publicly owned land regularly includes economically valuable land and urban land on which development pressure is high. In Solomon Islands, as much as 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) may be affected by how effectively urban public land is governed. -
Publication
Leasing in Vanuatu : Findings and Community Dissemination on Epi Island
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-11)Under the Vanuatu constitution, the 'rules of custom shall form the basis of ownership and use of land.' Implementing this principle after decades of land alienation, however, has proved to be challenging. While the leasing arrangement was originally intended to restore investor confidence and maintain agricultural development in newly independent Vanuatu, it soon evolved into the method of acquiring new leases over previously unalienated land. Tourism, business, agriculture, industry, urbanization, and the desire to use land to secure financial loans are some of the driving forces behind the creation of leases. This briefing note summarizes the findings of the research conducted on Epi Island and discusses methodologies for disseminating research findings to affected communities. -
Publication
The Lay of the Land : Land Access and Dispute Resolution in Timor-Leste
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-06)This report examines land access, disputes, and dispute resolution in Timor-Leste, using findings from the justice module included in an extension of the 2007 Timor-Leste Survey of Living Standards (TLSLS2) and a review of relevant social-science literature. The extension survey (TLSLSx) revisited a nationally representative subsample of the TLSLS2 between April and October 2008. The respondent for the justice module was randomly selected to be the household head or his/her spouse, and the TLSLSx revisited 1,716 respondents across Timor-Leste's thirteen districts. Survey topics included: (1) access to information and decision making; (2) opinions and knowledge of the law; (3) trust and local institutions; and (4) dispute resolution. Findings from this survey have been summarized in three short briefing papers focusing on land and conflict, youth perspectives, and community trust and decision making. -
Publication
Trust, Authority, and Decision Making : Findings from the Extended Timor-Leste Survey of Living Standards
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-06)This briefing note examines perspectives on trust, authority, and responsibility for decision making in Timor-Leste, using findings from the justice module included in an extension of the 2007 Timor-Leste Survey of Living Standards (TLSLS2) and a review of relevant social-science literature. It is hoped that this report will be a valuable resource for civil servants, civil society, and donor agencies working in Timor-Leste. This note examines relationships among East Timorese, focusing on trust, views on authority, and decision-making power. It begins by discussing the relationships between individuals specifically, trust in one's neighbors and perspectives on safety. While trust is essentially about these interpersonal relationships, research has shown that high levels of trust are associated with improved economic outcomes and better maintenance of public goods. Thus, trust within a society is important for a much wider set of outcomes. In later sections, the authors move to a discussion of individuals' relationships with institutions through the lens of community participation and beliefs about responsibility for dispute resolution. Throughout, the authors attempt to explain unusual findings or trends, making reference to relevant social-science literature. However, the authors also note where satisfying explanations have not been found, and welcome additional feedback and discussion on these areas. -
Publication
Youth Perspectives on Community, Trust, and Conflict
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-06)This briefing note examines intergenerational aspects of community involvement, trust, and authority, and dispute participation/resolution in Timor-Leste, using findings from the justice module included in an extension of the 2007 Timor-Leste Survey of Living Standards (TLSLS2) and a review of relevant social-science literature. It is hoped that this report will be a valuable resource for civil servants, civil society organizations, and donor agencies working with youth in Timor-Leste. The extension survey (TLSLSx) revisited a nationally representative subsample of the TLSLS2 between April and October 2008. The respondent for the justice module was randomly selected to be the household head or his/her spouse, and topics included: (1) access to information and decision making; (2) opinions and knowledge of the law; (3) trust and local institutions; and (4) dispute resolution. Findings from this survey have been summarized in three short briefing papers focusing on youth perspectives, land and conflict, and community trust and decision making. -
Publication
Women, State Law and Land in Peri-Urban Settlements on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-04)This paper provides a brief overview of the intersection of state and customary laws governing land in peri-urban settlements around Honiara, focusing on their impact upon landowners, particularly women landowners. It suggests that the intersection of customary and state legal systems allows a small number of individuals, predominantly men, to solidify their control over customary land. This has occurred to the detriment of many landowners, who have often found themselves excluded from both decision-making processes and the distribution of financial benefits from the use of land. This contributes to social conflict and undermines the legitimacy of land dealings, and as the tensions demonstrate, can ultimately lead to violent conflict.