The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Justice Services Improvement Project (P160751) Justice Services Improvement Project (P160751) EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA | Romania | Governance Global Practice | IBRD/IDA | Investment Project Financing | FY 2017 | Seq No: 13 | ARCHIVED on 23-Jan-2023 | ISR53505 | Implementing Agencies: Ministry of Justice, Romania Key Dates Key Project Dates Bank Approval Date: 31-Jan-2017 Effectiveness Date: 03-Aug-2017 Planned Mid Term Review Date: 29-Jun-2020 Actual Mid-Term Review Date: 29-Jun-2020 Original Closing Date: 31-Dec-2023 Revised Closing Date: 31-Dec-2023 pdoTable Project Development Objectives Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document) To improve the efficiency and accessibility of targeted justice institutions. Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective? No Components Table Name Improving Access to Justice:(Cost $1.14 M) Improving Operations of Courts and Institutions under MOJ Authority:(Cost $39.15 M) Enhancing National Trade Registry Office Performance:(Cost $13.46 M) Improving Prosecution Operations:(Cost $12.46 M) Project Management:(Cost $6.37 M) Overall Ratings Name Previous Rating Current Rating Progress towards achievement of PDO Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Implementation Progress (IP) Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Risk Rating Moderate Moderate Implementation Status and Key Decisions The PDO rating is being downgraded to "Moderately Satisfactory" as the completion of courts civil works which are the basis for the indicator achievement require of the project's extension for the PDO to be attained. The ratings for "Overall Implementation Progress" and "Improving Operations of Courts and Institutions under MOJ Authority" are being downgraded from "Satisfactory" to "Moderately Satisfactory" to reflect delays in implementation of civil works. While project activities continue to progress, unanticipated delays -- primarily stemming from impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic (delays due to lockdown measures and labor shortages) and the ongoing war in Ukraine (civil works costs increase, mainly masonry and steel) -- have slowed the pace of civil works construction - external factors, which are outside the control of Government counterparts. 1/23/2023 Page 1 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Justice Services Improvement Project (P160751) Risks Systematic Operations Risk-rating Tool Risk Category Rating at Approval Previous Rating Current Rating Political and Governance Moderate Moderate Moderate Macroeconomic Moderate Substantial Substantial Sector Strategies and Policies Low Low Low Technical Design of Project or Program Substantial Moderate Moderate Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Substantial Moderate Moderate Sustainability Fiduciary Moderate Moderate Moderate Environment and Social Moderate Moderate Moderate Stakeholders Moderate Moderate Moderate Other Low Low Low Overall Substantial Moderate Moderate Results PDO Indicators by Objectives / Outcomes To improve efficiency and accessibility of targeted justice institutions IN01204823 ►Compliance of select court facilities with EU standards for accessibility (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 90.00 Date 31-Oct-2017 15-Dec-2021 15-Dec-2021 31-Dec-2023 This ISR reports no change in the value of this indicator as compliance with EU standards for accessibility will be measured following the construction/rehabilitation of the select court sites. One selected court site Comments: has completed civil works to date (Prahova) and three additional FIC (Horezu, Costesti and Carei) will be completed at the original end date of the project (December 31, 2023). IN01204824 ►Percentage of courts equipped to deliver critical e-justice services (as defined by the MOJ) including the support for e-filing for litigants, lawyers and any other professionals (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 12.50 12.50 12.50 60.00 1/23/2023 Page 2 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Justice Services Improvement Project (P160751) Date 02-Nov-2020 15-Dec-2021 15-Dec-2021 31-Dec-2023 This ISR reports no change in value for this indicator as this is a new indicator added at Project restructuring and the relevant project activities are not yet complete. LAN infrastructure assessments Comments: conducted in 120 out of 132 first instance courts. Likewise, contracts to supply IT equipment and systems to the Public Ministry and prosecutor's offices signed and under implementation IN01204825 ►Increase in the use of e-filing (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 21.00 21.00 21.00 90.00 Date 02-Nov-2020 15-Dec-2021 15-Dec-2021 31-Dec-2023 This ISR reports no change in value for this indicator as this is a new indicator added at Project restructuring and the relevant project activities are not yet complete. . LAN infrastructure assessments Comments: conducted in 120 out of 132 first instance courts. Likewise, contracts to supply IT equipment and systems to the Public Ministry and prosecutor's offices signed and under implementation Intermediate Results Indicators by Components Improving Operation of Courts and Institutions under MoJ authority IN01204858 ►User perception of accessibility at select sites (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 46.00 46.00 46.00 85.00 Date 30-Aug-2019 15-Dec-2021 16-Dec-2022 31-Dec-2023 This indicator measures the perception of plaintiffs as to the level of accessibility of selected court facilities being rehabilitated under JSIP. The baseline/current values represent the perception at the time of the baseline survey (prior to the start of construction) with the end target to be recorded following the completion of construction and court hand-over. Since none of the works have been completed to date, no changes in the current values can be reported. A final survey will be completed at Project closing to capture end values. Despite prolonged COVID-19 restrictions, JSIP continued to show progress in citizen engagement activities, including targeted actions in FY22. The PIU continued to gather public perceptions through citizen surveys, conducting a third, interim survey on public perception toward selected reforms. The survey report from May 2022 has been reviewed by MOJ management and shared with the Bank task team. The MOJ intends to publish this latest report on their website where previous survey reports are Comments: already publicly available. PIU management continued to consider survey results to address feedback in the design of upcoming project activities. This third survey complements previous perception surveys under the Project. In 2018-2019, the Project designed, contracted and completed the baseline public perception survey. This survey collected the perceptions of court users across the six courts selected for rehabilitation under JSIP. Feedback has been disaggregated to explain the differences in the ways the public access the courts compared with service providers (judges, clerks, prosecutors, lawyers) and tracks improvement in the perceptions of citizens and users regarding the accessibility of justice services as a result of project activities. The first survey from 2019 acts as a baseline, and the information has been used to inform the PIU and authorities at the MOJ about the public accessibility of court facilities as well as the most pressing issues pertaining to accessibility per group surveyed at each court site. A second survey was conducted in 2020-2021 and informed the Project restructuring, which was completed in 2021. The third survey was completed in Spring 2022 but the evaluation of the corresponding indicator is 1/23/2023 Page 3 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Justice Services Improvement Project (P160751) postponed until rehabilitation/construction of all six sites was completed. The PIU management is taking survey results into account in the implementation of future project activities, particularly the access to justice and citizen engagement activities. All survey reports have been shared within the Ministry and with the Bank task team, and the baseline survey results were also published online on the MOJ’s website to close the feedback loop with citizens. Throughout FY22, JSIP’s grievance redress mechanism (GRM) has remained available to receive feedback from citizens on any project impact as well as project affected persons. This GRM was also used for the Justice District Development Project PPA (P157654). Information on JSIP’s GRM is posted on the project’s web page and is also available on the sites for each sub project. The PIU has a focal point to ensure that the GRM is accessible and functional, and it is also supervised regularly by the PIU and the Bank during missions. To date, no grievances have been received regarding JSIP. The GRM is functioning well and has received inquiries from citizens in relation to the other Bank projects. The Bank team will continue to work closely with the PIU to ensure the GRM remains fully functional and that any feedback received is addressed in a timely manner. Since the project effectiveness, five rounds of public consultations have been held with local residents, including court users, court staff, local authorities, and residents/owners of surrounding buildings in the communities where courts are being rehabilitated and reconstructed. These consultations focus on mitigating social and environmental risks. IN01204863 ►Reliability of ICT environment to perform core functions in courts (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 7,249.00 7,249.00 7,249.00 3,625.00 Date 02-Nov-2020 15-Dec-2021 16-Dec-2022 31-Dec-2023 IN01204864 ►Number of courts with core network ports infrastructure (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 30.00 30.00 36.00 104.00 Date 02-Nov-2020 15-Dec-2021 16-Dec-2022 31-Dec-2023 IN01204865 ►Percentage of critical ICT equipment provided to Courts that are vendor supported (as a share of all critical equipment in courts) (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 56.00 56.00 62.00 90.00 Date 02-Nov-2020 15-Dec-2021 16-Dec-2022 31-Dec-2023 Enhancing the National Trade Registry Office performance IN01204859 ►Reliability of ICT environment to perform core functions in Trade Registries (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 265.00 265.00 265.00 133.00 1/23/2023 Page 4 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Justice Services Improvement Project (P160751) Date 02-Nov-2020 15-Dec-2021 15-Dec-2021 31-Dec-2023 IN01204861 ►Percentage of critical ICT equipment provided to Trade Registries that are vendor supported (as a share of all critical equipment in trade registries) (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 16.00 16.00 16.00 90.00 Date 02-Nov-2020 15-Dec-2021 15-Dec-2021 31-Dec-2023 Improving Prosecution Service Performance IN01204860 ►Reliability of ICT environment to perform core functions in prosecution offices (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 1,048.00 1,048.00 1,048.00 524.00 Date 02-Nov-2020 15-Dec-2021 15-Dec-2021 31-Dec-2023 IN01204862 ►Percentage of critical ICT equipment provided to prosecutor offices that are vendor supported (as a share of all critical equipment in prosecutor offices) (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 42.00 42.00 42.00 90.00 Date 02-Nov-2020 15-Dec-2021 15-Dec-2021 31-Dec-2023 Project Management IN01204856 ►Citizen awareness of select reforms (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 34.00 60.00 Date 31-Oct-2017 15-Dec-2021 16-Dec-2022 31-Dec-2023 In order to assess the general public’s perception towards selected reforms, a questionnaire focused on the public’s opinion with regards to the justice reforms and the level of access to relevant information, particularly by persons within vulnerable groups, was launched in 2019. Data gathered from the population in the six towns that were surveyed were extrapolated to the entire target population for each town (individuals aged 18 and above, who pertain to a vulnerable group: persons with disabilities, sexual minorities, members of single parent families, victims of crime, Roma, women). The baseline performance Comments: indicator will show the accessibility of information campaigns regarding the justice systems capturing differences according to FICs and vulnerable people. According to the third survey, 77% of respondents report not knowing of information campaigns delivered through brochures and leaflets. On the other hand, 34% of the public reports being aware of public campaigns on justice and 35% of open days in court. 1/23/2023 Page 5 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Justice Services Improvement Project (P160751) Improving Access to Justice IN01204857 ►Internal user satisfaction with selected electronic justice services (Text, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value TBD TBD TBD TBD Date 02-Nov-2020 15-Dec-2021 15-Dec-2021 31-Dec-2023 Performance-Based Conditions Data on Financial Performance Disbursements (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed % Disbursed P160751 IBRD-86950 Effective USD 66.99 66.99 0.00 42.26 24.97 63% Key Dates (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Orig. Closing Date Rev. Closing Date P160751 IBRD-86950 Effective 31-Jan-2017 27-Feb-2017 03-Aug-2017 31-Dec-2023 31-Dec-2023 Cumulative Disbursements 1/23/2023 Page 6 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Justice Services Improvement Project (P160751) Restructuring History Level 2 Approved on 21-Apr-2021 Related Project(s) There are no related projects. 1/23/2023 Page 7 of 7