The 'Justice Index' is a Step Towards the Implementation of the Global Goal 16 of the U.N. Agenda

• Author: E. Alekseevskaya - L. Treskina
• Position: National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow, Russia)
• Pages: 64-85

BRICS LAW JOURNAL Volume V (2018) Issue 3

THE “JuSTICE InDEX”

IS a STEP TowaRD S THE IMPLEMEnTaTIon oF TH E GLoBaL GoaL 16

oF THE u.n. aGEn Da

EKATERINA ALEKSEEVSKAYA,

National Research University Higher School of Economics

(Moscow, Russia)

LARISA TRESKINA,

National Research University Higher School of Economics

(Moscow, Russia)

DOI: 10.21684/2412-2343-2018-5-3-64-85

This paper proposes a method for measuring sustainable development as a means of

the implementation of the Global Goal 16 of the United Nations Agenda. This method

is the primary attempt to quantify the quality of the rules of the judiciary and access to

a court in order to monitor sustainable development in the area of justice. In the recent

years, the U.N. drew attention to the fact that qualitative changes should be evaluated

through quantitative indicators.

The authors’ methodology is based on the fair trial standard formulated by the European

Court of Human Rights based on the interpretation of Article 6 of the Convention for the

Protection of Human R ights and Fundamental Freedoms, as well as the public ser vices

standard of the Russian Federation. This indexing method helps to assess the current level of

legal guarantees in the rules of legal proceedings and draft legislation, and to establish their

compliance with the fair trial principles. Indexing the access to justice has another positive

eect – it helps to monitor the local situations and every level of the judicial system.

Putting this method into practice will encourage avoidance of the adoption of bills

that might reduce the level of legal guarantees and will assist attempts to monitor its

dynamics. It could promote the introduction of eective procedures and better access

to court, ensure the improved accountability of all public justice institutions at all levels

and support overall societal wellbeing.

EKATERINA ALEKSEEVSKAYA, LARISA TRESKINA 65

Keywords: sustainable development; rule of law; fair trial; quantitative measurement;

statistics; access to court.

Recommended citation: Ekaterina Alekseevskaya & Larisa Treskina, The “Justice

Index” Is a Step Towards the Implementation of the Global Goal 16 of the U.N. Agenda,

5(3) BRICS Law Journal 64–85 (2018).

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Methods and Procedures

2. Results

3. Final Comments

Conclusion

Introduction

Adoption of the “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development” by the General Assembly of the United Nations with an inclusion of

the Global Goal 16 “To Promote Just, Peaceful and Inclusive Societies”1 means that all

countries of the world have recognized justice as the guarantee of the implementation

of other sustainable development global goals. Mankind has entered a new era in

which justice is characterized by these aspects: providing access to court, creating

eective procedures and accountable institutions at all levels, which should be

promoting societal peace as a result. This marked shift of the paradigm was brought

to everyone’s attention by Dustin N. Sharp2 and Rama Mani.3

The implementation of the U.N. Global G oal “To Promote Just, Peaceful and

Inclusive Societies” should be carried out these days through a program-oriented

and goal-oriented approach in every U.N. country. In the recent years, the U.N.

drew attention to the fact that qualitative changes should be evaluated through

1 U.N. General Assembly, Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,

A/RES/70/1, 21 October 2015 (Sep. 10, 2018), also available at https://www.un.org/en/development/

desa/population/migration/generalassembly/docs/globalcompact/A_RES_70_1_E.pdf.

2 Dustin N. Sharp, Development, Human Rights and Transitional Justice: Global Projects for Global

Governance, 9(3) International Journal of Transitional Justice 517 (2015); Dustin N. Sharp, Emancipating

Transitional Justice from the Bonds of the Paradigmatic Transition, 9(1) International Journal of Transitional

Justice 150 (2015).

3 Rama Mani, Dilemmas of Expanding Transitional Justice, or Forging the Nexus Between Transitional Justice

and Development, 2(3) International Journal of Transitional Justice 253 (2008).