Justice in time: A theory of constraints approach

If there is some truth to the adage that justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done, then surely it must be seen to be done in a timely manner. Yet court congestion and delays – which threaten to undermine the justice system – have become global phenomena with significant adverse implications for social welfare, economic development, and civil rights. This work describes an application of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) to the judicial system for the purpose of designing an intervention to alleviate court congestion – an intervention that won the 2012 Goldratt Foundation New Knowledge Award. In cooperation with the Jerusalem District Court in Israel, the judicial process was reviewed through the lens of TOC, and a set of operational changes was implemented to reduce case processing time. Data collected before and after this intervention indicate the potential of achieving lead-time reduction by applying TOC to judicial environments.