The World Bank Thematic Group on Law and Justice Institutions (formerly the Legal and Judicial Reform Practice Group) is an interdisciplinary group of World Bank professionals working on poverty alleviation in developing and transition countries through law and justice reform. The World Bank, founded in 1944, is an international organization with 184 member countries. The Bank's mission is to alleviate poverty in developing and postsocialist countries, and its primary instrument is the provision of financial and technical assistance to further economic growth. In 2003, the Bank lent about $20 billion on favorable terms for projects involving everything from road construction to reform of court systems as well as for general budgetary support. It also provided or managed almost $2 billion in grant assistance for development-related ...