The first edition of this book was a part of the "Equal Before the Law: Access to Justice in Central Asia", the Joint Program of Eurasia Foundation and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland under the Wider Europe Initiative that has promoted many judicial reforms. It was initiated in a ministerial conference of the EU and the Central Asian countries in 2008, where a mutual determination was expressed to forge a close partnership to exchange legal and judicial experiences and strengthen the cooperation between the two regions. The cooperation goes on with UNDP as a new partner.

The book examines rule of law development and administrative structures of a society with a particular focus on the problems facing women, children and persons with disabilities. It also includes practical recommendations concerning rule of law development. This second edition includes material on the newest prospects of rule of law development.

The main themes of the Wider Europe Initiative have been security, trade and development, information society development, energy and environment and social sustainability. This book attempts to point out that as this selection of themes suggests, a multiple of different factors affect social development and rule of law development, and they must be observed from a broader perspective as an interactive process.