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Anti-corruption approaches in justice sector assistance

Mapping U4 partners’ justice sector and rule of law support

The justice sector occupies a unique place in the fight against corruption: it can be part of the problem or part of the solution. In early 2023, we mapped 174 justice sector interventions supported by U4’s eight development partners. We found that less than half of the interventions integrate anti-corruption approaches. In particular, we found very little direct anti-corruption programming in legal aid interventions, which represent a high proportion of justice sector assistance supported by U4 partners.

19 December 2023
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Anti-corruption approaches in justice sector assistance

Main points

  • Anti-corruption mainstreaming has been an objective of development cooperation for nearly two decades, yet it remains difficult to determine the extent of anti-corruption integration in this cooperation. There is no dedicated anti-corruption policy objective marker for reporting on official development assistance.
  • Between December 2022 and May 2023, we mapped 174 justice sector interventions supported by U4’s eight partners, the development cooperation ministries and agencies of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
  • Less than half of the interventions in our mapping address corruption, and just 18% address it directly or explicitly. A further 22% address it indirectly by implementing measures that can potentially prevent, control, or reduce corruption, without explicitly stating that as an objective.
  • We found very little direct integration of anti-corruption programming in legal aid interventions, which represent a high proportion of justice sector assistance provided by U4 partners. This relates in part to the challenges of collaborating directly with governments while simultaneously calling out corruption by public officials.
  • Given the centrality of the justice system in the fight against corruption, the integration of anti-corruption approaches in justice sector assistance warrants further attention. With partners typically preferring indirect rather than direct approaches, future research should focus on understanding the nature, scope, and effectiveness of indirect approaches.

Cite this publication


Dang, L.; Greer, M. (2023) Anti-corruption approaches in justice sector assistance. Bergen: U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, Chr. Michelsen Institute (U4 Issue 2023:6)

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About the authors

Lillian Dang

Lillian Dang is an international development practitioner with 15 years of experience designing, implementing, and evaluating rule of law, governance, and security sector assistance. She has held research and programme roles at the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI), the United States Institute of Peace, and the Asia Foundation. Ms. Dang formerly practiced law in Australia.

Mary Greer

Mary Greer has 40 years of experience advancing the rule of law in the United States and in over 50 countries around the world through advocacy, technical assistance, legal representation, and mentoring. She served as Senior Criminal Law Advisor at ABA ROLI for 25 years. Before joining ABA ROLI, Ms. Greer practiced law in the United States, serving as both a prosecutor and a public defender.

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