Weighting Justice: Constructing an Index of Access to Justice

29 Pages Posted: 19 Feb 2009 Last revised: 16 Jul 2009

See all articles by Martin Gramatikov

Martin Gramatikov

Tilburg Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies of Civil Law and Conflict Resolution Systems (TISCO); Tilburg University - Private Law Department and Faculty of Law; Tilburg Law School

Malini Laxminarayan

Tilburg University - Intervict

Date Written: February 16, 2009

Abstract

The methods and procedures for measuring the performance of a legal system are debatable issues. Legal indexes, although not common, do exist as a means for measurement and evaluation of various legal phenomena. This paper outlines one method using the Access to Justice Index, which is a procedure for aggregating the relevant data on the costs, the quality of the procedure and the quality of the outcome of a given legal path. This data is a result of the various justice theories that measure experiences of the user when attempting to solve a dispute. The paper investigates in detail the need for and applicability of weights in order to adjust the observed data. After assessing the possible methods of extracting and applying weights, we conclude that factor analysis is in fact the most practical and reliable technique. The option of non-weighting is also briefly considered, and sheds light on the possibility for leaving the data in its original form. The paper concludes with a discussion on the validation of the index and a case study of consumer disputes in the Netherlands to illustrate its performance.

Keywords: access to justice, index, weighting, costs of justice, quality of the procedure, quality of the outcome

JEL Classification: K00, K10, C43

Suggested Citation

Gramatikov, Martin and Laxminarayan, Malini, Weighting Justice: Constructing an Index of Access to Justice (February 16, 2009). Tilburg University Legal Studies Working Paper No. 18/2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1344418 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1344418

Martin Gramatikov (Contact Author)

Tilburg Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies of Civil Law and Conflict Resolution Systems (TISCO) ( email )

Warandelaan 2
P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://www.tilburguniversity.nl/webwijs/show/?uid=m.a.gramatikov

Tilburg University - Private Law Department and Faculty of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, DC Noord-Brabant 5000 LE
Netherlands
+31 13 466 2980 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.tilburguniversity.nl/webwijs/show/?uid=m.a.gramatikov

Tilburg Law School ( email )

Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands
+31134662980 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/webwijs/show/?uid=m.a.gramatikov

Malini Laxminarayan

Tilburg University - Intervict ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, DC Noord-Brabant 5000 LE
Netherlands

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