The Constitution of the Republic of Yemen provides for a judicial authority that is autonomous in its judicial, financial, and administrative aspects. The judiciary includes the Supreme Judicial Council and the Supreme Court. The most important elements in the judicial system are that Yemen is a developing country, that the process of integrating north and south regions of Yemen is still going on since the civil war of 1994, that Yemen is an amalgam of both modern institutions of democratizing governance and deep-seated tribal traditions, and that the economy has been affected by adverse political events related to the Gulf War. Nonetheless, the Yemen Government has implemented reform initiatives to improve the legal and judicial systems in actual practice. The thrust of the reform strategy is aimed at primary deficiencies in these systems. Such deficiencies include poor legal and administrative performance, inadequate administrative systems, negative public perceptions of the role of the judiciary in society, and the need for physical and technological infrastructure improvements. Institutional arrangements and support strategies designed to improve the legal and judicial systems are described that concern training, technology, information dissemination, and court facility construction. Selected basic criteria for the evaluation of the legal and judicial systems are listed in an appendix.