Paper short abstract:

An evaluation of a legal aid programme in Burundi finds improvements in access to formal but not of satisfaction with the local courts or improvement in the settlement of cases.

Paper long abstract:

As many other fragile states, Burundi has no concrete experience of any large-scale legal assistance, despite the fact that the right to counsel is guaranteed by various international instruments. A broad programme providing legal awareness, legal advice, and to a lesser extent legal representation, was implemented in Burundi between 2011 and 2014, with EU support. We carried out an evaluation of this project at the end of 2014 and collected data from different sources: a household survey on over 3500 people living in the area targeted by the programme; around 35 semi-directive interviews with justice system actors; and data from the Ministry of Justice and other justice development programmes. We find that the project improves access to formal justice (local courts) but not satisfaction with the local courts or improvement in the settlement of cases.