The rule of law and constitution is the hallmark of a civilised and progressive society. The experience of the last few centuries has shown that no country has moved forward and earned a respectable place in the comity of nations without setting norms of social conduct and individual behaviour for its citizens.
But, unfortunately, over the last few years the rule of law has shown a decline, denoting a civilisational regress. This is the finding as outlined in the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2024, released some time back. In the year under review, the rule of law weakened in a majority of countries surveyed.
The WJP Rule of Law Index is the world’s major source of original, independent rule of law data. Its methodology draws on expert and household surveys to measure rule of law in 142 countries and jurisdictions, covering 95% of the world’s population. Each country’s score is an average of eight factors: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice, and Criminal Justice. Published annually since 2009, the index is a useful tool for governments, multilateral organizations, businesses, academia, media, and civil society organizations around the world to assess and address shortcomings in the rule of law regime.
The World Justice Project (WJP) is an independent, nonpartisan, multidisciplinary organization working to create useful knowledge, build awareness, and encourage action to advance the rule of law and justice worldwide. The World Justice Project defines the rule of law as an open and transparent system of laws, institutions, norms, and community commitment that ensures accountability, implementation of law, open government, and speedy and accessible justice. Effective rule of law reduces corruption, combats poverty and disease, and protects people from injustices of various kinds. It makes for development, accountable government, and respect for fundamental rights. Rule of law provides a strong foundation for a sound system of justice, health, opportunity, and peace for communities.
The top-ranked country in the 2024 WJP Rule of Law Index is Denmark, followed by Norway (2), Finland (3), Sweden (4), and Germany (5). The top five ranked countries remain unchanged from 2023. The bottom ranked countries include Venezuela (142), Cambodia (141), Afghanistan (140), Haiti (139), and Myanmar (138). The countries with the biggest rule of law declines in the past year were Myanmar, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, while the countries that improved their rule of law score most from 2023 to 2024 are Poland, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka.
According to the index, authoritarian trends have intensified in recent years with an increasing number of countries failing to protect human rights and democracy for their citizens. In the words of the report, “After seven consecutive years of rule of law declines it can be easy to focus on the negative. But to do so would ignore accomplishments in anti-corruption and the hard work occurring to improve justice systems globally. The global community must redouble efforts to expand these rule of law gains in all areas.”
Concerningly, there has been a steep decline in two critical areas: Fundamental Rights and Constraints on Government Powers. As per available figures, between 2016 and 2024, people in 81% of countries lost protections for their fundamental rights. Additionally, 77% of countries show a weakening in governmental checks and balances, including oversight by legislatures, courts, civil society, and the media. Over 6 billion people now live in countries where rule of law is weaker than it was in 2016.
A troubling phenomenon is that in every corner of the world, rulers continue to consolidate their authority, with grave implications for individual freedoms, government accountability, and people’s ability to choose their leaders through free and fair elections. Since the global rule of law recession began in 2016, the Index indicator measuring lawful transition of power has declined in 72% of the countries surveyed. In the 2024 elections the ruling party has maintained power in 13 out of 15 countries with below average scores on this subfactor.
In the index, Pakistan has been ranked the third-worst among 142 countries in terms of law and order. Pakistan has been ranked 140th for Order and Security, which measured three factors: crime control, protection from armed conflicts and the use of violence to resolve civil disputes. Only Mali and Nigeria were below Pakistan in terms of law and order and security. Pakistan ranked 103rd for constraints on government powers, 120th for corruption, 106 for open government, 125th for fundamental rights, 127th for regulatory enforcement, 128th for civil justice and 98th for criminal justice. Among the six South Asian states, Pakistan and Afghanistan are at the bottom of the index.
Such a low ranking for Pakistan in the Rule of Law index should be a matter of concern both for the authorities and civil society as a whole. It is bad for the country’s image in the outside world, affecting its political and diplomatic standing as well as the process of economic development.