15 June 2010: Public Lecture by Professor Veronica Taylor

Accountability: the Next Frontier in
Rule of Law Assistance

15 June 2010 | 16.00 - 18.00 hrs.
The Hague Public Library

In recent years, rule of law assistance has become an important element of development aid. The amount of money spent on legal reform programmes and the number of actors working in the rule of law field have increased significantly. 

As the interest for this topic continues to grow, it is now time for donor agencies to improve their accountability. Is donor performance up to standards, could the effectiveness of rule of law aid be improved and are projects focused on the real needs of people?

By drawing on personal experience in countries as varied as Afghanistan, China and Indonesia, Veronica Taylor demonstrated why the accountability agenda is not just a desirable norm for legal development projects funded with taxpayer money, but that it is in fact a practical necessity for an industry that currently over-promises and under-performs.

Interactive discusions with panel members

• Olivia Swaak-Goldman, International Cooperation Advisor of the Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court
• André Westerink, Deputy Head, Good Governance Division at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands
• Laila al-Zwaini, International researcher and advisor, former acting Head Rule of Law Unit at United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, former Researcher and Advisor on Security and Justice Sector Reform in Yemen at DFID, and former Member of Dutch mission to Iraq at the Dutch Ministry of Forreign Affairs.
• Ronald Janse, HiiL Research Theme Coordinator Rule of Law, Associate Professor at Utrecht University and editor of the Hague Journal on the Rule of Law.

Discussion points:

Are taxpayers getting their money's worth through rule of law assistance in development aid? Can the effectiveness of rule of law assistance be improved through increased training, transparency and monitoring? While the importance of rule of law in development aid continues to increase, more will be demanded of donor agencies and rule of law practitioners. How should they respond?

Be part of the highly topical debate on rule of law, development aid and donor effectiveness. Another HiiL initiative linking top-level academic knowledge with practical needs.