The WJP is an independent organisation which works to improve the rule of law across the world. Photo credit: Freepik.
Washington, Oct 27 (CTK) – The Czech Republic ranks 20th out of 140 countries in this year’s rule-of-law index, improving its position by two places compared to 2021, according to a study by the independent World Justice Project (WJP) released yesterday.
The ranking, which is headed by Scandinavian countries, takes various criteria into account, such as “open government”, “fundamental rights”, “civil justice”, and “absence of corruption”.
This year, the lowest ranked countries were Afghanistan, Cambodia and Venezuela, which came last.
The Czech Republic improved its position by two places and finished one place ahead of France, and also ahead of the United States, Italy and Slovakia.
The Czech Republic ranked highest (18th) in the categories evaluating security and fundamental rights. The authors of the report saw the major Czech shortcomings in the “open government” and “absence of corruption” categories.
Of European and North American countries included in the rankings, the Czech Republic placed 15th out of 31 countries.
Denmark topped the index again, as last year, followed by Norway, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands. These five states regularly rank among the top five countries and they excel in the above mentioned categories as well as the categories of “constraints on government powers”, “civil justice”, “criminal justice”, and “regulatory enforcement.”
The highest ranked post-communist state in the WJP assessment is Estonia, which placed ninth, followed by Lithuania in 18th place.
The most significant worsening of the rule of law was marked in Sudan, Myanmar, Haiti, Afghanistan and Nicaragua, WJP wrote.
The rule of law has been deteriorating worldwide for five years, said the report. The WJP data shows that this year, the score has worsened in 61% of the 140 evaluated countries, covering some 4.4 billion people.
WJP managing director Elizabeth Andersen said that although the world was getting out of the pandemic, the worldwide recession of the rule of law continued. She noted that the core of the rule of law was justice, which means responsibility, equal rights and justice for everyone. A less just world will also be less stable, she added.
The WJP is an independent organisation which works to improve the rule of law across the world. The rule-of-law index is derived from statistical data and comparisons of various polls, opinions of locals and legal experts.
