E.I. ALEKSEEVSKAYA,

Candidate of Legal Sciences,

General Director of the Legal Center “Alekseevskaya and Partners”

The article proposes a method for measuring sustainable development as a means of the

implementation of the Global Goal 16 of the United Nations Agenda. This method is the

primary attempt to quantify the quality of the rules of the judiciary and access to court as

a way to monitor sustainable development in the area of justice. In the recent years, the UN

drew attention to the fact that qualitative changes should be evaluated through quantitative

indicators. The author’s methodology is based on the fair trial standard formulated by the

European Court of Human Rights based on the interpretation of Article 6 of the Convention

for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as well as the public services

standard of the Russian Federation. In relation to the previously set global goals, development

indices have been developed, but they do not apply to justice. However, it is necessary to

measure what we value, because data is an integral part of sustainable development policies.

The author proposes a technique for measuring qualitative changes in a quantitative way.

This indexing method helps to assess the current level of legal guarantees in the rules of

legal proceedings and draft legislations, and to establish their compliance with the fair trial

principles. Indexing the access to justice has another positive effect – it helps to monitor the

local situations and every level of the judicial system. Putting this method to practice will

encourage avoidance of the adoption of bills that might reduce the level of legal guarantees

and will assist attempts to monitor its dynamics. It might promote introduction of effective

procedures and better access to court, ensure the better accountability of all public justice

institutions at all levels and support overall societal wellbeing.

Keywords: sustainable development; rule of law; fair trial; quantitative measurement;

statistics; access to court; quantitative measuring of the quality.

References

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