Rule of Law and Access to Justice: Construction of an Accessibility Index of Primary Justice Fora in Paraguay

Abstract

The main objective of the study is to create an index that measures the population’s spatial accessibility to primary justice fora in Paraguay, identifying areas that need additional resources to improve such access. The data used for the analysis include all households registered in the 2012 census in Paraguay, with their corresponding geographic coordinates, as well as all available geodata for selected justice-related public services within the same studied area. The methodology proposed is the application of a minimum distance analysis, together with a point proximity buffer analysis. Results show that districts located in the Central department of Paraguay have the highest accessibility index in the country, while those locate in the Chaco area have the lowest. Similarly, population size seems to be a relevant factor that play into the supply side of justice fora.