Making the Link between Development’s Regulation through Law and Law’s Promotion through Development

Contemporary debates about the role of law in development often head in two different directions. The first considers questions of ‘law and development’ and asks: how can development assistance help strengthen laws and justice in developing countries? A second, more recent focus involves the ‘laws of development’, and questions how the implementation of development is or should be regulated by law. This paper argues for the need to make a greater link between those lines of debate. A series of real-life scenarios are presented to show how ensuring legal accountability in development—especially for individuals negatively affected by development assistance—depends on well-functioning legal systems in countries receiving assistance. As a result, both donors and recipient countries may have to confront challenges in promoting appropriate legal systems if they are serious about regulating development. Conversely, a failure to understand sufficiently the regulation of development could lead to unrealistic or thin accounts of how to promote laws and legal institutions in developing countries.