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Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Lazard Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Portfolio seeks total return from current income and capital appreciation.

Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption Shareholder Transaction Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination 2014-04-30
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 220% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 220.00%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.


The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waivers described above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The Portfolio invests primarily in debt securities issued or guaranteed by governments, government agencies or supranational bodies or companies or other private-sector entities, including fixed and/or floating rate investment grade and non-investment grade bonds, convertible securities, commercial paper, collateralized debt obligations, short- and medium-term obligations and other fixed-income obligations, and may invest in money market instruments such as certificates of deposit. The securities in which the Portfolio invests may be denominated in the US dollar, the Canadian dollar, the Euro, the Japanese yen, the Pound Sterling, or the local currency of the issuer.


Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in debt securities that are economically tied to emerging market countries. Emerging market countries include all countries not represented by the MSCI World Index. The Portfolio currently intends to focus its investments in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the developing countries of Europe, although the allocation of the Portfolio’s assets among countries and regions may vary from time to time based on the Investment Manager’s judgment and its analysis of market conditions.


The Portfolio is not limited to securities of any particular quality or investment grade and, as a result, the Portfolio may invest significantly in securities rated below investment grade (lower than Baa by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or lower than BBB by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group (“S&P”)) (“junk bonds”) or securities that are unrated. Additionally, the Portfolio is not restricted to investments in securities of any particular maturity or duration.


The Portfolio is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act, which means that it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, when compared to a diversified fund.


The Portfolio generally will not purchase equity securities; however, the Portfolio may from time to time acquire and hold equity securities as a result of exercising a convertible debt security or holding a convertible debt security to maturity or in connection with the reorganization or bankruptcy of an issuer of a debt security held by the Portfolio.


The Portfolio may, but is not required to, purchase options on ETFs and currencies and enter into forward currency contracts and credit default swaps, for hedging purposes or to seek to increase returns.

Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.


Fixed-Income and Debt Securities Risk. While fixed-income securities are designed to produce a stable stream of income, their prices move inversely with changes in interest rates. Interest rate risk is usually greater for fixed-income securities with longer maturities or durations. The Portfolio’s investments in lower-rated, higher-yielding securities are subject to greater credit risk than its higher rated investments. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer will not make interest or principal payments, or will not make payments on a timely basis. Non-investment grade securities tend to be more volatile, less liquid and are considered speculative. If there is a decline, or perceived decline, in the credit quality of a debt security (or any guarantor of payment on such security), the security’s value could fall, potentially lowering the Portfolio’s share price.


Some debt securities may give the issuer the option to call, or redeem, the securities before their maturity. If securities held by the Portfolio are called during a time of declining interest rates (which is typically the case when issuers exercise options to call outstanding securities), the Portfolio may have to reinvest the proceeds in an investment offering a lower yield (and the Portfolio may not fully benefit from any increase in the value of its portfolio holdings as a result of declining interest rates).


Market Risk. Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio.


Issuer Risk. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets.


Non-US Securities Risk. The Portfolio’s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as exposure to less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars carry the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the US dollar and affect the value of these investments held in the Portfolio.


Emerging Market Risk. Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. However, the capital markets in the US and internationally have experienced unprecedented volatility in recent years, causing significant declines in the value and liquidity of many securities. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.


Liquidity Risk. The lack of a readily available market may limit the ability of the Portfolio to sell certain securities at the time and price it would like. The size of certain debt securities offerings of emerging markets issuers may be relatively smaller in size than debt offerings in more developed markets and, in some cases, the Portfolio, by itself or together with other Portfolios or other accounts managed by the Investment Manager, may hold a position in a security that is large relative to the typical trading volume for that security; these factors can make it difficult for the Portfolio to dispose of the position at the desired time or price.


Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Portfolio may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified investment portfolios, the Portfolio’s NAV may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio’s investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers.


Derivatives Risk. Derivatives transactions, including those entered into for hedging purposes, may reduce returns or increase volatility, perhaps substantially. Forward currency contracts, over-the-counter options on securities (including options on ETFs) and currencies, and swap agreements are subject to the risk of default by the counterparty and can be illiquid. These derivatives transactions, as well as the exchange-traded options in which the Portfolio may invest, are subject to many of the risks of, and can be highly sensitive to changes in the value of, the related currency, security or other reference asset. As such, a small investment could have a potentially large impact on the Portfolio’s performance. Use of derivatives transactions, even if entered into for hedging purposes, may cause the Portfolio to experience losses greater than if the Portfolio had not engaged in such transactions.


High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Portfolio’s investment strategy may involve high portfolio turnover (such as 100% or more). A portfolio turnover rate of 100%, for example, is equivalent to the Portfolio buying and selling all of its securities once during the course of the year. A high portfolio turnover rate could result in high brokerage costs and an increase in taxable capital gains distributions to the Portfolio’s shareholders.

Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.
Risk Nondiversified Status [Text] rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus Because the Portfolio may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified investment portfolios, the Portfolio's NAV may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio's investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance Bar Chart and Table Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio by showing the Portfolio’s performance for the first complete calendar year of operation compared to that of broad measures of market performance. The bar chart shows the performance of the Portfolio’s Institutional Shares. Updated performance information is available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio by showing the Portfolio's performance for the first complete calendar year of operation compared to that of broad measures of market performance.
Performance Availability Phone [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone (800) 823-6300
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.LazardNet.com
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture The Portfolio's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Best Quarter:
3/31/12 7.52%

Worst Quarter:
6/30/12 -0.01%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter:
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Mar. 31, 2012
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 7.52%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter:
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2012
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (0.01%)
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012)
Index No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, Taxes [Text] rr_IndexNoDeductionForFeesExpensesTaxes (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Performance Table Narrative rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns for the Open Shares vary from those of Institutional Shares. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

JPMorgan Emerging Market Bond Index Global Diversified® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 17.44%
Life of Portfolio rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 13.66%
JPMorgan Government Bond Index – Emerging Markets Global Diversified® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 16.76%
Life of Portfolio rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 7.82%
50% JPMorgan Emerging Market Bond Index Global Diversified Index/ 50% JPMorgan Government Bond Index – Emerging Markets Global Diversified Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 17.21%
Life of Portfolio rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 10.81%
Institutional Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of Amount Redeemed) rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption (1.00%)
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.80%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.23%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.03%
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.03%) [1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 1.00% [1]
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 102
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 325
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 566
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,257
Annual Return 2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 18.95%
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 18.95%
Life of Portfolio rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 10.86%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Feb. 28, 2011
Institutional Shares | After Taxes on Distributions
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 16.18%
Life of Portfolio rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 8.61%
Institutional Shares | After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 12.23%
Life of Portfolio rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 7.92%
Open Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of Amount Redeemed) rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption (1.00%)
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.80%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 1.92%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 2.97%
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (1.67%) [1]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 1.30% [1]
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 132
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 433
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 756
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,671
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 18.68%
Life of Portfolio rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 10.54%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Feb. 28, 2011
[1] Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio through April 30, 2014, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed 1.00% and 1.30% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively, and from May 1, 2014 through April 30, 2023, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed 1.10% and 1.40% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares and Open Shares, respectively. All limitations on Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses are exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses, and excluding shareholder redemption fees or other transaction fees. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Investment Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.