The World Justice Project (WJP) has said that more countries declined in their overall rule of law performance in 2019.
In a statement last week, WJP said for the second year in a row, there is a “sign suggesting rising authoritarianism” across the world.
In its Rule of Law Index measures were eight primary factors such as Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice, and Criminal Justice.
WJP said the factor where there is higher decline is in ‘Constraints on Government Powers’, which it says “measures the extent to which, in practice, those who govern are bound by governmental and non-governmental checks such as an independent judiciary, a free press, the ability of legislatures to apply oversight, and more.”
“Over the past four years, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia have lost the most ground in this dimension of the rule of law.
“The second largest decline over last year was seen in the area of “Criminal Justice,” followed by “Open Government” and “Fundamental Rights.” On a positive note, more countries improved in “Absence of Corruption” than declined for the second year in a row.
The top three overall performers in the 2019 WJP Rule of Law Index were Denmark, Norway, and Finland. The bottom three were the Democratic Republic of the Congo (124), Cambodia (125), and Venezuela (126). Namibia had the highest performance in sub-Saharan Africa.
