Enforcing Contracts

This topic looks at the efficiency of contract enforcement by following the evolution of a sale of goods dispute and tracking the time, cost, and number of procedures involved from the moment the plaintiff files the lawsuit until actual payment.

The table below shows the three main indicators for enforcing contracts. They are:
  • number of procedures from the moment the plaintiff files a lawsuit in court until the moment of payment,
  • time in calendar days to resolve the dispute, and
  • cost in court fees and attorney fees, where the use of attorneys is mandatory or common, expressed as a percentage of the debt value.
To see the details for a specific economy, use the dropdown box on the right or click on the links below.  Click on column headers to sort data.

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Research

Courts (PDF, 691KB), by Simeon Djankov and others, Quarterly Journal of Economics, May 2003.

Region or EconomyProcedures (number)Time (days)Cost (% of claim)
OECD30.6462.419.2
Middle East & North Africa43.4679.923.7
Eastern Europe & Central Asia37.1450.925.6
South Asia43.51,052.927.2
Latin America & Caribbean39.7707.031.3
East Asia & Pacific37.2538.148.5
Sub-Saharan Africa39.2643.949.3
Bhutan472250.1
Iceland264176.2
Luxembourg263219.7
Norway332809.9
Korea, Rep.3523010.3
Finland3237510.4
China3440611.1
Poland3883012.0
Thailand3547912.3
Slovenia321,29012.7
Hungary3339513.0
Portugal3154713.0
Russian Federation3728113.4
Oman5159813.5
Croatia3856113.8
Seychelles3872014.3
Tanzania3846214.3
Germany3039414.4
Greece3981914.4
United States3230014.4
Bahrain4863514.7
Ethiopia3762015.2
Cyprus4373516.4
Argentina3659016.5
Brazil4561616.5
Maldives4166516.5
Yemen, Rep.3652016.5
Belgium2550516.6
Iran, Islamic Rep.3952017.0
Spain3951517.2
France2933117.4
Mauritius3672017.4
Taiwan, China4751017.7
Austria2539718.0
Azerbaijan3923718.5
Equatorial Guinea4055318.5
Kuwait5056618.8
Turkey3542018.8
Armenia4828519.0
Uruguay4072019.0
El Salvador3078619.2
Hong Kong, China2428019.5
Lesotho4169519.5
Samoa4445519.7
Sudan5381019.8
St. Kitts and Nevis4757820.5
Australia2839520.7
Moldova3136520.9
West Bank and Gaza4460021.2
Qatar4357021.6
Cape Verde3742521.8
Tunisia3956521.8
Algeria4663021.9
Kazakhstan3839022.0
Uzbekistan4219522.2
Canada3657022.3
New Zealand3021622.4
Eritrea3940522.6
Antigua and Barbuda4535122.7
Japan3036022.7
Sri Lanka401,31822.8
Ghana3648723.0
Latvia2730923.1
Swaziland4097223.1
Mauritania4637023.2
Denmark3438023.3
Belarus2822523.4
United Kingdom3039923.4
Lithuania3027523.6
Bulgaria3956423.8
Pakistan4797623.8
Switzerland3141724.0
Costa Rica4085224.3
Puerto Rico3962024.3
Netherlands2551424.4
Afghanistan471,64225.0
Guinea-Bissau411,14025.0
Guyana3658125.2
Morocco4061525.2
Israel3589025.3
Tajikistan3443025.5
Montenegro4954525.7
Kiribati3266025.8
Singapore2115025.8
Philippines3784226.0
Egypt, Arab Rep.411,01026.2
United Arab Emirates4953726.2
Estonia3642526.3
Guatemala311,45926.5
Senegal4478026.5
Nepal3973526.8
Nicaragua3554026.8
Ireland2051526.9
Ecuador3958827.2
Iraq5152027.3
Marshall Islands3647627.4
Belize5189227.5
Malaysia3058527.5
Saudi Arabia4363527.5
Botswana2968728.0
Vietnam3429528.5
Chile3648028.6
Bahamas, the4942728.9
Romania3151228.9
Serbia3663528.9
Kyrgyz Republic3926029.0
Syrian Arab Republic5587229.3
Georgia3628529.9
Italy401,21029.9
Paraguay3859130.0
Slovak Republic3056530.0
St. Vincent and the Grenadines4539430.3
Tonga3735030.5
Mongolia3231430.6
Lebanon3772130.8
Jordan3868931.2
Sweden3050831.2
Lao PDR4244331.6
Mexico3841532.0
Nigeria3945732.0
Zimbabwe3841032.0
Grenada4768832.6
Czech Republic2761133.0
Macedonia, FYR3737033.1
Bolivia4059133.2
South Africa3060033.2
Trinidad and Tobago421,34033.5
Djibouti401,22534.0
Gabon381,07034.3
Liberia411,28035.0
Honduras4590035.2
Palau3888535.3
Peru4142835.7
Namibia3327035.8
Dominica4768136.0
Brunei Darussalam5854036.6
Suriname441,71537.1
St. Lucia4763537.3
Gambia, the3243437.9
Bosnia and Herzegovina3859538.4
Burundi4483238.6
Albania3939038.7
Zambia3547138.7
Fiji3439738.9
India461,42039.6
Dominican Republic3446040.9
Ukraine3034541.5
Côte d'Ivoire3377041.7
Madagascar3887142.4
Haiti3550842.6
Venezuela, R.B.2951043.7
Angola461,01144.4
Uganda3851044.9
Guinea5027645.0
Jamaica3565545.6
Cameroon4380046.6
Kenya4046547.2
Togo4158847.5
Panama3168650.0
São Tomé and Principe431,18550.5
Mali3662652.0
Colombia341,34652.6
Congo, Rep.4456053.2
Niger3954559.6
Kosovo5342061.2
Bangladesh411,44263.3
Benin4282564.7
Micronesia, Fed. Sts.3496566.0
Vanuatu3043074.7
Chad4174377.4
Rwanda2426078.7
Solomon Islands3745578.9
Central African Republic4366082.0
Burkina Faso3744683.0
Comoros4350689.4
Cambodia44401102.7
Papua New Guinea42591110.3
Indonesia39570122.7
Malawi42432142.4
Mozambique30730142.5
Sierra Leone40515149.5
Congo, Dem. Rep.43625151.8
Timor-Leste511,435163.2