On 16 December 2009, the UN General Assembly, upon recommendation by the Sixth Committee, adopted its annual resolution on the ‘rule of law at the national and international levels’. Surprising as it may sound, this was only the fourth time that the General Assembly considered this topic, as the agenda item had only been introduced in fall 2006 by the delegations of Liechtenstein and Mexico as a follow-up to the substantive references made to the rule of law in the 2005 World Summit Outcome. Obviously, the General Assembly had previously worked on rule of law issues, in particular under its Charter mandate relating to the codification and progressive development of international law. But until the introduction of the generic agenda item in 2006, the Assembly's work on the rule of law was primarily driven by subject-specific initiatives, in particular the elaboration of international conventions. The new item provided an opportunity for the General Assembly to discuss the issue more broadly and to strengthen the coordination and coherence of United Nations activities in furtherance of the rule of law in a holistic manner.

This paper argues that the concept of justice represents a broader and more effective organizing principle than the rule of law for international efforts to alleviate poverty. The current focus on the rule of law by international development agencies features a concentration on courts, other legal institutions, judges, laws and lawyers. But justice is about far more than the rule of law. The prescriptive portion of the paper argues that justice is about fair treatment and fair results regarding a whole host of priorities that, if supported by the international community, can better address the rights and needs of the poor. It includes organizing the disadvantaged and advocacy by and for them. The paper concludes on a predictive note that is far from optimistic about a shift from the rule of law to justice. It sketches two pessimistic scenarios for how relevant international efforts will look ten years down the line, but holds out some slight hope for two more positive scenarios emerging involving legal empowerment.