Places 17th out of 30 in the Latin America and Caribbean Region and 73rd out of 128 countries worldwide
THE World Justice Project (WJP), on Wednesday, released the WJP Rule of Law Index® 2020, an annual report based on national surveys of more than 130,000 households and 4,000 legal practitioners and experts around the world and Guyana saw a slightly improved placing of 73rd out of 128 countries.
According to a press release, the WJP Rule of Law Index measures rule of law performance in 128 countries and jurisdictions across eight primary factors: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice, and Criminal Justice. The Index is the world’s leading source for original, independent data on the rule of law.
“Guyana’s overall rule of law score increased by less than 1% in this year’s Index. At 73rd place out of 128 countries and jurisdictions worldwide, Guyana improved three positions in global rank. Guyana’s score places it at 17 out of 30 countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region* and 25 out of 42 among upper middle income** countries,” the release said.
Denmark, Norway, and Finland topped the WJP Rule of Law Index rankings in 2020 while Venezuela; Cambodia; and Democratic Republic of the Congo had the lowest overall rule of law scores—the same as in 2019.
It noted that more countries declined than improved in overall rule of law performance for a third year in a row, continuing a negative slide toward weakening and stagnating rule of law around the world. “The majority of countries showing deteriorating rule of law in the 2020 Index also declined in the previous year, demonstrating a persistent downward trend. This was particularly pronounced in the Index factor measuring Constraints on Government Powers,” the release said.
The declines were widespread and seen in all corners of the world, it said, adding that in every region, a majority of countries slipped backward or remained unchanged in their overall rule of law performance since the 2019 WJP Rule of Law Index.
The release said that regionally, Latin America and the Caribbean’s top performer in the Index is Uruguay (22nd out of 128 countries globally), followed by Costa Rica and Chile. The three countries with the lowest scores in the region were Nicaragua; Bolivia; and Venezuela, RB (128th out of 128 countries globally).
“Countries with the strongest improvement in rule of law were Ethiopia (5.6% increase in score, driven primarily by gains in Constraints on Government Powers and Fundamental Rights) and Malaysia (5.1%, driven primarily by gains in Constraints on Government Powers, Fundamental Rights, and Regulatory Enforcement),” it said.
The largest declines in the rule of law were seen in Cameroon (-4.4%, driven primarily by falling scores in Order and Security and Fundamental Rights) and Iran (-4.2%, driven primarily by falling scores in Criminal Justice). Over the last five years, countries experiencing the largest average annual percentage drop in the rule of law were Egypt (-4.6 %); Venezuela, RB (-3.9%); Cambodia (-3.0%); Philippines (-2.5%); Cameroon (-2.4%); Hungary (-2.1%); and Bosnia and Herzegovina (-2.1%), the report said.
“The rule of law is not just a matter for judges or lawyers,” said William H. Neukom, WJP founder and CEO. “It is the bedrock of communities of justice, opportunity, and peace. We are all stakeholders in the rule of law and therefore we all have a role to play in upholding it. The 2020 Index underscores that we have our work cut out for us.”
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_03_12_2020