The Guidance Note on Assessing the Rule of Law using Institutional and Context Analysis (ICA) takes UNDP’s generic guidance note on ICA and applies it to rule of law programming to help implement UNDP’s Strategic Plan. There are few areas of development which are as defined by the use of power as rule of law, and this area can really only be strengthened effectively at the country level when the diversity of national experiences and power relations is taken into consideration. For this reason, the guide is developed as a tool for practitioners working on all aspects of the rule of law.

ICA is essentially the analysis of the political and institutional context for a country’s development and by focusing this assessment on the rule of law, the guide provides practical guidance intended to improve the effectiveness of rule of law programmes and strategies as well as support for national dialogue and policy development. 

The rule of law ICA is designed to be used jointly with the UNDP’s User’s Guide to Measuring Rule of Law, Justice and Security Programmes, as these two products form a set of guidance tools required to help complete the preparatory stage of rule of law project, programme and sector design and development.

These products are part of an emerging body of empirically based UN tools to measuring the strengths and effectiveness of criminal justice systems, particularly law enforcement, judicial and correctional institutions, and the impact of development initiatives in this area, which also includes the ‘United Nations Rule of Law Indicators: Implementation Guide and Project Tools’.