Efficiency of judicial systems: model definition and output estimation

R Ippoliti,G Tria

doi:10.1080/15140326.2020.1776977

R Ippoliti, G Tria

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1080/15140326.2020.1776977

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Focusing on the Italian judicial system as our case study, we use Data Envelopment Analysis to estimate technical efficiency scores and reference values for policy makers. In detail, this work presents a comparative analysis of different model definitions to identify the most appropriate one, emphasizing the key role of case matters in this production process. According to our results, the North of Italy emerges as more efficient than the other Italian macro areas, although the gap significantly decreases when case matters are considered in the output estimation. Concerning the collected reference values, which might be adopted by policy makers to reform the judicial system, we can observe significant differences able to affect the reorganization of courts. Taking the proposed case study into account, it seems that improvements in court performance could be achieved by reforming civil procedures, which are the technologies applied by judges in their production process.

Highlights

The judiciary serves important purposes in upholding social values, and in determining economic performance (Falavigna et al, 2019; Ippoliti & Vatiero, 2014)
We emphasize the need to analyze courts according to their different production lines and the related technologies applied by judges
The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach lets researchers build a deterministic, non-parametric production frontier comparing the performance of several Decision Making Units (DMUs), which in our case are the courts of first instance

Summary

Introduction

The judiciary serves important purposes in upholding social values, and in determining economic performance (Falavigna et al, 2019; Ippoliti & Vatiero, 2014). Without entering into the Italian debate, this work tries to shed new light on the estimation of judicial efficiency, by identifying the most appropriate model definition and by offering policy makers some additional insights. We try to understand whether the composition of the demand for justice can affect the bench marking analysis and potential reference values to be used by policy makers in the reform process. These are precisely the goals of this study, that is to say, to identify the most appropriate model definition for the estimation of judicial efficiency and to establish whether an incorrect approach can have a significant impact on the policy makers’ decision-making process. Focusing on the specific case study, our results might point to the need to reform the technologies applied to the production lines of this key sector (i.e., Italian civil procedures)

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Conclusion