Making justice count: a review of the issues and obstacles affecting the use of management statistics for improving court performance in Latin America

Abstract

There are several factors accounting for the nonempirical approach to performance and reform tracking among Latin American court systems. Judiciaries? own failure to keep adequate track of their performance (via good systems of management statistics) is part of the explanation, although given the substantial investments in court automation, it is hard to understand why this remains the case. Here external donors share in the blame because of their inadequate attention to the concept of judicial management and the tools it requires. Internal politics and the doctrine of judicial independence have also presented obstacles. Finally, ideological resistance to "measuring justice" and the notion that it privileges efficiency to the exclusion of other values is another element. The paper looks at how these explanations play out in different countries, the means used to overcome them, and the benefits that can be achieved in the quality and quantity of judicial output by enhancing courts? ability to measure and monitor both.