By Luc Altmann, Mariane Piccinin Barbieri and Sophia Kilroy 

This policy paper presents a step-by-step assessment to help countries implement the OECD Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems. The paper draws on the United Kingdom's model for measuring access to His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service. It is designed to help policymakers adapt this assessment model to their specific contexts and provides guidance on using data to identify and address barriers to court services. With a focus on people-centred justice, it includes good practices and country examples for using data to realise equal access to justice for all.

OECD Public Governance Policy Papers, No. 60, OECD Publishing

By NIla Bala, Casey Witte, Lars Trautman   

 The most pressing problems facing criminal justice policymakers and practitioners are racial disparities within the criminal justice system. In many instances, the data on outcomes at each stage of the criminal justice process are stark, with Black individuals disproportionately bearing the brunt of system involvement and severe sentences. While nearly every actor and policymaker associated with the criminal justice system can play a part in addressing this issue, prosecutors remain some of the most powerful. With a hand in decisions ranging from charging to plea bargaining, the policies and practices of prosecutors inevitably influence the existence and extent of any racial disparities. This paper examines the sources of racial disparities in the criminal justice system, how prosecutors may contribute to them, and finally, actions that prosecutors can take to help reduce these disparities. These recommendations include a better understanding of disparities, decreasing reliance on cash bail and pretrial detention, prioritizing diversion programs, and implementing algorithmic color-blind charging.  

Washington, DC: R Street, 2021. 6p.