NCJ Number
125522
Journal
Law and Society Review Volume: 24 Issue: 2 Dated: (1990) Pages: 549-569
Date Published
1990
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article examines aggregate civil litigation trends since 1945 in six nations: Italy and Spain in Europe and Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Peru in Latin America.
Abstract
Civil litigation rates in all the countries rose during the 1970's. It is unlikely, however, that this growth was due primarily to socioeconomic development. First, per capita economic growth slowed during the 1970's compared to the earlier postwar period. Second, litigation rates between 1945 and 1970 were either flat or cyclical, reacting to forces independent of socioeconomic development. Third, rates of filing civil cases in the 1980's are apparently falling. By investigating regional litigation rates within a country, however, apparently the level of socioeconomic development does influence the total number of disputes generated or the citizenry's propensity to use formal courts. The study concludes that although the level of socioeconomic development has been an important variable affecting civil caseloads in the countries studied, over time local environmental conditions occurring within particular structural constraints tend to cause various litigation-rate patterns that often are cyclical. The article recommends intracountry analysis by region to develop greater comparative insight into the factors that are most likely to affect case filing patterns in contemporary Western nations. 3 tables, 7 figures, 18 footnotes. (Author abstract modified)