3 Future Directions 31 tem could theoretically prove very relevant at reducing ethnic tensions and deterring conflict, yet there is insufficient evidence on the subject.

A new avenue of research should evaluate the potential of a stronger judiciary to reduce corruption. To what extent can a stronger judiciary hold accountable corrupt politicians and government officials? What interventions could achieve greater judicial independence–and would they lower corruption in society? What is the specific impact of a corrupt judiciary over development outcomes such as poverty, violence and overall corruption? These questions remain unanswered. Big data may offer new ways to evaluate the independence or quality of the judiciary, for example, by identifying outlier decisions in comparison to similar decisions based on fact patterns and legal precedent. Empirical research on these topics may become promising in the fight against corruption.

For empirical evidence to truly contribute to development, greater diversity in the countries and contexts of study is essential. Our review shows that few countries–mostly in South Asia, Europe, and North America–concentrate most research on justice. There is little research on the role of justice in Sub-Saharan and North Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and East and Southeast Asia. Extending the geographical presence of research is important for a variety of reasons. On the research side, it provides greater external validity to ongoing research and brings new perspectives, contexts and challenges into consideration. On the policy side, these regions tend to concentrate a significant number of the poor as well as the conflict-afflicted areas.

Challenges related to the unreliability and unavailability of data pose a conundrum: countries that stand to gain the most from data-driven technologies lack the resources and data infrastructure to take advantage of them. However, with sufficient training, support, and testing of new innovations to collect and analyze data there is the capacity to overcome such challenges. Addressing these will be essential to ensuring that the promise of technological innovations and data-driven decision-making reach those who need it the most.

# **3.B Data for Better Judiciaries**

To exploit the potential of the data revolution, countries should start by creating a data ecosystem that relates different sources of data to each other, thereby improving the universe of analyses that becomes possible. This requires planning ahead and making an up-front investment in data infrastructure whose benefits may not be realized until the long term. Realizing the promise of data requires another essential asset: human capital. In the legal field, engineers generally lack domain knowledge whereas lawyers tend to lack the technical skills to wrangle and analyze data. Thus, staff training and hiring may be essential to ensuring that data is used responsibly to develop effective innovations. It is through investment in human capital that countries may leverage the promise of data in justice systems for the greater good.

Once the appropriate data ecosystem and the human capital is established, we propose the following paths for the use of data, each of which are explored in greater detail below: 1) access to e-justice for citizens; 2) data for better court performance; and 3) data for better knowledge.

First, the data revolution can bring better access to e-justice for citizens and companies. Given the global justice gap in access to justice, making justice more accessible for vulnerable populations is particularly relevant in developing countries. Data may be used to identify gaps in access to justice, for example, by comparing legal need surveys to the actual disputes that are brought to courts. This may help policy makers better understand if there are specific disputes that elude the justice system, where better access to legal means of resolving disputes might be the main gap. For instance, if surveys indicate that a territory is deeply affected by domestic violence, but few cases of domestic violence are resolved in courts, this will provide evidence of a gap in cases of domestic violence being resolved in courts. Data systems may also be used to inform citizens of their prospective out-