SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) prominently feature institutions, both as a cross-cutting issue in many of the goals and as a standalone goal (SDG 16). The World Public Sector Report 2019 looks at national-level developments in relation to several concepts highlighted in the targets of Goal 16, which are viewed as institutional principles: access to information, transparency, accountability, anti-corruption, inclusiveness of decision-making processes, and non-discrimination. The report surveys global trends in these areas, documenting both the availability of information on those trends and the status of knowledge about the effectiveness of related policies and institutional arrangements in different national contexts. It also demonstrates how the institutional principles of SDG 16 have been informing the development of institutions in various areas, including gender equality and women’s empowerment (SDG 5). The report further examines two critical instruments that can support effective public institutions and public administration for the SDGs, namely national budget processes and risk management. The World Public Sector Report 2019 aims to inform the first review of SDG 16 at the United Nations high-level political forum on sustainable development in July 2019, and to contribute to future efforts to monitor progress on SDG 16. By reviewing key challenges and opportunities for public institutions in the context of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the national level, the report also aims to inform efforts by all countries to create effective institutions to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.

This volume addresses SDG 16, namely "Promote peaceful andinclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels" and contains the description of a range of terms, which allows a better understanding and fosters knowledge.
Concretely, the defined targets are: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere; end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children; promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all; significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime; substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms; develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels; ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decisionmaking at all levels; broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance; provide legal identity for all, including birth registration; ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements; strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime; promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development.

This book addresses the current crisis that threatens the rule of law and has led to the need for its adjustment as normative concept, legal principle and pragmatic guideline for the behaviour of political players.Rule of law is a pillar of the constitutional orders and a key principle of national, international and EU law. Yet, rule of law is subject to pressure for change in the face of emergency, crisis and transition. This book explores how constitutional crisis, emergency constitutionalism and constitutional polycrisis assert pressures for the transformation of rule of law and thus produce a state of flux. It examines the rule of law from the viewpoint of constitutional imaginaries, memory politics and identity politics. It critically assesses the responses given by the EU and its member states to the current crisis. The work also provides an analysis of the most important challenges to rule of law stemming from the performance of constitutional courts, including, the risks of judicial activism, politicization of the courts and the judicialization of politics.The book will be an invaluable resource for researchers, academics and policy-makers working in the areas of Constitutional Law and Political Science.

Die internationale Friedensförderung ist in eine Sackgasse geraten. Ihre hochgesteckten Ziele haben bestenfalls zu einem mittelmäßigen Erfolg geführt, der von Momenten des völligen Scheiterns unterbrochen wurde. Die Diskreditierung des Begriffs "liberale Friedenskonsolidierung" hat dazu geführt, dass er sich weiterentwickelt hat, um auf die zahlreichen Kritiken zu reagieren. Begriffe wie "inklusiver Frieden" verbinden das liberale Paradigma mit kritischen Begriffen des Kontexts und der Notwendigkeit, Praktiken zu verfeinern, um "das Lokale" oder "Komplexität" zu berücksichtigen. Es ist jedoch unklar, wie sich dies in klare Leitlinien für die Praxis der Friedensförderung umsetzen lässt. Paradoxerweise hat die gegenwärtige Politik der Friedenskonsolidierung ein noch nie dagewesenes Maß an Vagheit erreicht. Frieden in der politischen Unruhe bietet eine alternative Antwort, die in einem neuen Diskurs verwurzelt ist, der darauf abzielt, sowohl auf die Erfahrungen der Arbeit in Friedensprozessen einzugehen. Es zeichnet ein neues Verständnis von Friedensprozessen als Institutionalisierung formalisierter politischer Unruhe und zeigt neue Wege auf, damit umzugehen. Das Buch zeigt auf, wie Friedensprozesse Formen der Uneinigkeit institutionalisieren und fortlaufende Prozesse schaffen, um sie zu bewältigen, anstatt sie zu lösen. Es schlägt einen bescheidenen Ansatz vor, um "Aufhänger" für künftige Prozesse zu schaffen und den Einsatz kreativer Nicht-Lösungen und Praktiken der Uneinigkeit zu maximieren, die als Wege für pragmatische Nachkriegsübergänge diskutiert werden. Nur wenn wir die Natur und die Techniken der formalisierten politischen Unruhe verstehen, können wir neue konstruktive Wege finden, mit ihr umzugehen.

Seit Ende des Kalten Krieges wurden in mehr als 200 Friedensverträgen Autonomieabkommen vereinbart. Während manche Autonomielösungen ethnische Selbstbestimmungskonflikte erfolgreich regulieren konnten, sind andere gescheitert. Wann also funktioniert Autonomie? Dieses Buch verbindet Ansätze aus der Politikwissenschaft, der Konfliktforschung und der Sozialpsychologie und entwickelt eine neue Theorie zur Erklärung von Autonomieerfolg und -scheitern. Diese beschreibt einen initiierten Prozess der ethnischen Anerkennung als Grundlage für ein friedliches Zusammenleben in multiethnischen Post-Konfliktgesellschaften. Während territoriale Autonomiearrangements hierfür einen geeigneten institutionellen Rahmen bieten, ist dieser Anerkennungsprozess stark kontextabhängig. Die Studie identifiziert hierfür kausal relevante Faktoren und analysiert deren Auftreten in den Konsolidierungsphasen von 19 Autonomien weltweit mittels Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) und theorietestenden Prozessanalysen. Die Studie zeigt, dass Autonomieerfolg in der Tat von einer spezifischen Kombination von strukturellen und akteurszentrierten Erfolgsfaktoren abhängt. Ethnische Eliten akzeptieren Autonomiereformen, wenn diese ein hohes Maß an Selbstbestimmung mit sich bringen und gleichzeitig der Anerkennungsprozess nicht durch ausgeprägte Ungleichheiten behindert wird. Elitenkooperationen gelingen in demokratisch-inklusiven Institutionen und mit internationaler Unterstützung und senden entscheidende Signale für gesellschaftliche Annäherung. Autonomiereformen scheitern, wenn der Grad an gewährter Selbstbestimmung zu gering ist und horizontale Ungleichheiten zu neuen Grievances führen. In Kombination mit exklusiven Institutionen und mangelnder internationaler Aufmerksamkeit führt dies zu weiterer Eskalation.  

In this farewell speech on the occasion of his retirement as Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law at Maastricht University, given in March 2022, Aalt Willem Heringa discusses the too often ignored role of courts as interpreters of statutes. The courts, by checking the (constitutional) quality of statutes, contribute to the rule of law and parliamentary democracy.   Independent courts may add to the confidence in a constitutional and parliamentary system as a whole, by being in a position to decide cases on contentious issues as an authoritative third branch of government. Moreover, courts can also make it visible to all that not only are citizens bound by the law, but that rules and fundamental principles also apply to politicians. Being subject to legal rules is not an indication of weakness, as politicians often want us to believe. On the contrary, it is an expression of strength: the strength of the safeguards for the proper functioning of our political system, which is embedded in the law.   Furthermore, Heringa puts forward proposals on how to embed this essential role and function of courts into the Dutch constitutional order. He also shows how courts are an essential feature that builds trust in the constitutional system, allows for the protection of individual rights and fundamental values and even leads to a strengthening of parliamentary democracy.

This study, with its approach rooted in EU law and its clear focus on conceptual underpinnings, grapples with one of the most challenging questions facing constitutional lawyers today; namely the rule of law. Drawing on the expertise of leading scholars and judges at the forefront of the question, it takes a dual approach. It opens by setting out the foundations of the rule of law, including legal certainty, democratic principles and judicial independence. It goes on to explore the protections that can be relied upon, from policy developments, to human rights sanctions, and infringement actions. This is a rapidly developing question in EU constitutional law, so this masterful collection will be welcomed by both scholars and policy-makers in the field.

This timely book scrutinises the mechanisms for guaranteeing respect for the rule of law in the European legal system. Focusing on external relations, it assesses the capacity of the EU to disseminate these values as a global actor and offers novel suggestions for how this capacity could be exercised more effectively. Using EU legislation and case law, the book identifies the essential elements of the rule of law, and distinguishes the general limits it places on the behaviour of public authorities. Focusing on EU sanctions, trade policy and relations with neighbouring and membership candidate countries, it argues that the EU's promotion of the rule of law internally and externally has strengthened considerably over time. Nevertheless, given the degradation of the rule of law on the international scene, contributors call for an overhaul of EU rule of law policy to uphold the EU's ethical commitments and strengthen its international standing. This book will be an important read for scholars and students of European law, trade law and international relations. Presenting detailed analyses of EU policy and case law, it will also be highly useful for practitioners and policy-makers seeking to promote human rights and democracy.

Since gaining independence from colonial rule, most African countries have been struggling to build democratic and peaceful states. While African multiparty politics may be viewed as a democratic system of governance, in reality it is plagued by ethnic and regional political grievances that undermine meaningful democracy.By examining post-conflict institutional reforms in several African countries, this book sheds light on the common causes of violent conflicts and how institutional design can affect the conditions for peace and democracy in Africa. Focussing on conceptual and practical questions of designing ethnically and regionally inclusive state institutions and the way institutions are perceived by the citizenry Post-Conflict Institutional Design addresses political autonomy and control over resources, issues which are often key sources of ethnic and regional grievances. Crucially, it examines the meanings of institutional reforms as well ethnic and regional representation.

This book argues that a leading cause of the political instability in the Horn of Africa is a crisis of governance, caused by extreme centralization of power, weak institutions, and the failure to institutionalise the responsible use of authority. In recent years, many attempts have been made to resolve the ongoing conflicts in Somalia and South Sudan, but problems remain, and in 2019 the instability spread to Ethiopia. This book critically examines how many of the governance problems in the region can be addressed through institutional design. The central argument is that an inclusive system of governance through federalism, devolution, and inclusive political institutions as well as ensuring the institutionalization of power through strengthening the rule of law has the potential to make governments more accountable, inclusive, and be able to deliver critical services. Such systems ensure relative stability and peace and reduce the risks of state fragmentation - a major concern in the region. Demonstrating that the threats of further fragmentation and conflict due to the crisis of governance are likely to continue unless serious steps are taken to deal with the situation, the book will be an important read for researchers and policy makers with an interest in peacemaking, politics, constitutional law, and federalism in the region.

This book considers how legal reforms and awareness-raising associated with building the rule of law, have engaged the popular legal consciousness, producing contradictions that have in turn shaped the nature of the resultant legality. How are popular legal-justice beliefs and practices transformed when legal reforms encounter local contexts and cultures? For over a decade, scholars have engaged with the argument that legal reform through rule of law building is the answer to the various ills of countries transitioning from war to peace or authoritarianism to democracy. Yet scholars have also repeatedly critiqued rule of law building projects: the rule of law, in theory and in practice, is a product of Western, liberal thought and development and provides limited space for local culture, norms, and practices. This tension has been playing out in multiple locations, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo for about two decades. This book examines how rule of law reforms in the Democratic Republic of Congo shape local understandings and practices of law and justice. Instead of focusing on their so-called successes and failures, it explores popular legal consciousness - how people think about, perceive, and engage with the law - in order to draw broader conclusions about the practical, everyday outcomes of attempts to build the rule of law. This book will appeal to comparativists, Africanists, and socio-legal scholars who study post-conflict reconstruction, rule of law building, legal consciousness, access to justice and legal pluralism, as well as those with practical interests in these areas.

This book contains assessment of the progress, or the lack of it, in implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through review of the assessments and of case studies, readers can draw lessons from the actions that could work to positively address the goals. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is designed to catalyze action in critical areas of importance to humanity and the planet. The effort to implement the SDGs, however, demands a sense of urgency in the face of environmental degradation, climate change, emerging conflicts, and growing inequality, among a number of other socio-economic problems. Five years after the launch of the 2030 Agenda, this book takes stock of how far the world has come and how we can position ourselves to achieve the global targets. The book is one of the first to assess how the implementation is impeded by the onset of COVID-19. It contains a special chapter on COVID-19 and the SDGs, while many thematic chapters on different SDGs also assess how COVID-19 adversely affects implementation, and what measures could be taken to minimize the adverse effects. This publication thus provides a fresh look at implementation of the SDGs highlighting impactful and creative actions that go beyond the business-as-usual development efforts. The volume reinforces this analysis with expert recommendations on how to support implementation efforts and achieve the SDGs through international and national strategies and the involvement of both the public and private sectors. The result is an indispensable textual tool for policy makers, academia, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as the public, as we march toward the 2030 deadline.

This book explores the methods through which international law and its associated innovative global governance mechanisms can strengthen, foster and scale up the impacts of treaty regimes and international law on the ability to implement global governance mechanisms. Examining these questions through the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the book looks at environmental, social and economic treaty regimes. It analyses legal methodologies as well as comparative methods of assessing the relationship between the SDGs and treaty regimes and international law. Contradictions exist between international treaty regimes and principles of international law resulting in conflicting implementation of the treaty regimes and of global governance mechanisms. Without determining these areas of contest and highlighting their detrimental impacts, the SDGs and other efforts at global governance cannot maximize their legal and societal benefits. The book concludes by suggesting a path forward for the SDGs and for international treaty regimes that is forged in a solid understanding and application of the advantages of global governance mechanisms, including reflections from the COVID-19 pandemic experience. Addressing the strengths, gaps and weaknesses related to treaty regimes and global governance mechanisms, the book provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of this increasingly important topic. It will be of interest to students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in sustainability and law.

This open access book analyses the interplay of sustainable development and human rights from different perspectives including fight against poverty, health, gender equality, working conditions, climate change and the role of private actors. Each aspect is addressed from a more human rights-focused angle and a development-policy angle. This allows comparisons between the different approaches but also seeks to close gaps which would remain if only one perspective would be at the center of the discussions. Specifically, the book shows the strong connections between human rights and the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015. Already the preamble of this document explicitly states that "the 17 Sustainable Development Goals ... seek to realise the human rights of all". Moreover, several goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda correspond to already existing individual human rights obligations. The contributions of this volume therefore also address how the implementation of human rights and SDGs can reinforce each other, but also point to critical shortcomings of the different approaches.

The book draws upon the expertise and international research collaborations forged by the Worldwide Universities Network Global Africa Group to critically engage with the intersection, in theory and practice, of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa's development agendas and needs. Further, it argues that - and demonstrates how - the SDGs should be understood as an aspirational blueprint for development with multiple meanings that are situated in dynamic and contested terrains.   As the SDGs have substantial implications for development policy and resourcing at both the macro and micro levels, their relevance is not only context-specific but should also be assessed in terms of the aspirations and needs of ordinary citizens across the continent. Drawing on analyses and evidence from both the natural and social sciences, the book demonstrates that progress towards the SDGs must meet demands for improving human well-being under diverse and challenging socio-economic, political and environmental conditions. Examples include those from the mining industry, public health, employment and the media. In closing, it highlights how international collaboration in the form of research networks can enhance the production of critical knowledge on and engagement with the SDGs in Africa.