CIAO DATE: 03/04

Beyond Rule of Law Orthodoxy: The Legal Empowerment Alternative

Abstract

The international aid field of law and development focuses too much on law, lawyers, and state institutions, and too little on development, the poor, and civil society. In fact, it is doubtful whether "rule of law orthodoxy," the dominant paradigm pursued by many international agencies, should be the central means for integrating law and development. As most prominently practiced by multilateral development banks, this "top-down," state-centered approach concentrates on law reform and government institutions, particularly judiciaries, to build business-friendly legal systems that presumably spur poverty alleviation. Other development organizations use the rule of law (ROL) orthodoxy's state-centered approach to promote such additional goals as good governance and public safety. The problems with the paradigm are not these economic and political goals, per se, but rather its questionable assumptions, unproven impact, and insufficient attention to the legal needs of the disadvantaged.

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