Since reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan began in 2001, the U.S. government, the international community, and the Afghan government have made improving Afghanistan's justice system a priority. Key documents have noted the importance of the justice sector, including the U.S. government's Integrated Civilian-Military Campaign Plan for Support to Afghanistan and the Afghan Government's National Priority Programs focus on strengthening Afghan rule of law and Afghan citizens' access to justice. The Department of State (State) has invested in a variety of rule of law programs since 2005, including programs managed by its Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to train Afghan justice sector personnel. State also serves as the lead coordinator for U.S. justice sector development efforts in Afghanistan, responsible for coordinating the activities of several U.S. agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Justice. INL has spent approximately $205.5 million on its Justice Sector Support Program (JSSP) to provide training to Afghan justice sector officials, to develop a case management system to track cases throughout Afghanistan's justice system, and to build the capacity and administrative skills of officials within Afghan ministries

The Dept. of State (State) has spent over $223 million on justice sector development programs in Afghanistan, including State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs' (INL) programs to train Afghan justice sector personnel. One of these the Justice Sector Support Program (JSSP), has three main components: regional training of justice sector officials, developing a case management system, and building administrative capacity at Afghan ministries. In Jan. 2013, INL transferred the regional justice training component to the International Development Law Organization (IDLO). This report assesses (1) INL's management of the JSSP contract and the extent to which the JSSP's contribution to the development of the Afghan justice sector can be measured; (2) the extent to which INLS decision to transfer the JSSP's Regional Justice Sector Training component -- now known as the Justice Training Transition Program (JTTP) -- to IDLO affects INL's oversight of the program; and (3) State's efforts to coordinate justice sector programs in Afghanistan across U.S. government agencies. Figures. This is a print on demand report.

Developing effective Afghan justice sector institutions is considered by many observers to be essential in winning the support of the Afghan population, improving the Afghan government's credibility and legitimacy, and reducing support for insurgent factions. Such sentiments are reinforced in the face of growing awareness of the pervasiveness of Afghan corruption. To this end, establishing the rule of law (ROL) in Afghanistan has become a priority in U.S. strategy for Afghanistan and an issue of interest to Congress. Numerous U.S. programs to promote ROL are in various stages of implementation and receive ongoing funding and oversight from Congress.

The purpose of this report is to provide background and analysis for Congress on U.S. rule of law (ROL) and justice sector assistance programs to Afghanistan. The report also describes the scope of the ROL problem in Afghanistan, including the role of corruption, and surveys the range of Afghan justice sector institutions. In addition, the report describes U.S., Afghan, and multilateral policy approaches to the Afghan justice sector since the U.S. military invasion of Afghanistan in 2001; U.S. policy coordination and funding; and current U.S. justice sector assistance programs in Afghanistan.

The book provides an updated account of justice reform in Afghanistan, which started in the wake of the US-led military intervention of 2001. In particular, it focuses on the role of international actors and their interaction with local stakeholders, highlighting some provisional results, together with problems and dilemmas encountered in the reform activities. Since the mid-1990s, justice system reform has become increasingly important in state-building operations, particularly with regard to the international administrations of Bosnia, Kosovo, East Slavonia and East Timor. Statebuilding and Justice Reform examines in depth the reform of justice in Afghanistan, evaluating whether the success of reform may be linked to any specific feature or approach. In doing so, it stresses the need for development programmes in the field of justice to be implemented through a multilateral approach, involving domestic authorities and other relevant stakeholders. Success is therefore linked to limiting the political interests of donors; establishing functioning pooled financing mechanisms; restricting the use of bilateral projects; improving the efficacy of technical and financial aid; and concentrating the attention on the ‘demand for justice’ at local level rather than on the traditional supply of financial and technical assistance. This book will be of much interest to students of Afghanistan, intervention and statebuilding, peacekeeping, and post-conflict reconstruction, as well as International Relations in general. Matteo Tondini is a researcher and a legal advisor. He has served as a project advisor to the Embassy of Italy in Kabul, Development Cooperation Unit, working within the ‘Afghanistan Justice Program’ and has a Phd in Political Systems and Institutional Change, from the Institute of Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy.