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The American Bar Association’s International Law Section recently convened a panel to discuss the global impact of U.S. Democracy under fire as part of its annual “Rule of Law Webathon.” World Justice Project Executive Director Elizabeth Andersen joined the Hon. Andre M. Davis, U.S. Circuit Judge (ret.), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Cass R. Sunstein, professor at Harvard Law School, and Scott Carlson, associate executive director of global programs for the American Bar Association in a robust discussion about how lawyers can help prevent further backsliding of democracy.  The panel was moderated by the Hon. Delissa A. Ridgway of the U.S. Court of International Trade. 

WJP Executive Director Elizabeth Andersen recently addressed the American Bar Association’s “Putting People first: People-Centered Justice at Home and Abroad” conference in Washington DC. Andersen used her remarks to define the unmet justice needs experienced by billions around the world and explain how people-centered justice can bridge the justice gap. 

WASHINGTON, 17 de mayo de 2023 - La mayoría de la población de América Latina y el Caribe consideran que su gobierno utiliza la desinformación para moldear la opinión pública a su favor.  Este es sólo un indicio del autoritarismo y de la desconfianza generalizada en los gobiernos de la región, según se desprende de 26 nuevos reportes nacionales sobre el Estado de Derecho publicados hoy por el World Justice Project (WJP).  "Estos reportes representan las voces de las personas en toda América Latina y el Caribe y en cómo perciben y experimentan el Estado de Derecho", dijo Elizabeth Andersen, Directora Ejecutiva del WJP.  "Estamos más contentos que nunca de compartir más datos de nuestras encuestas para ayudar a las diversas partes interesadas a identificar las debilidades del Estado de derecho y desarrollar políticas para hacerles frente." 

WASHINGTON May 17, 2023 – The majority of people in Latin America and the Caribbean believe their government is using misinformation to shape public opinion in their favor.  That’s just one indication of authoritarianism and widespread mistrust of government in the region, as captured in 26 new Rule of Law country reports released today by the World Justice Project (WJP).   “These reports represent the voices of the people across Latin America and the Caribbean and how they perceive and experience the rule of law,” said WJP Executive Director Elizabeth Andersen.  “We are excited to share more of our survey data than ever before, to help diverse stakeholders pinpoint rule of law weaknesses and develop policies to address them.” 

WASHINGTON May 9, 2023 – About a third of people in the Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras), on average, would like to migrate internationally according to new research from the World Justice Project.  Hondurans express the strongest desire to migrate, with 44% saying they would like to leave the country.  The proportion of people wishing to migrate has dropped in all three countries since 2021, although the percentage of people who already have a plan to migrate has stayed relatively stable, at an average of about 10%. The new data comes from a series of nationally representative household polls conducted in the three countries within the last year, updating an earlier 2021 study.  

WASHINGTON April 20, 2023 – A majority of people in the Caribbean believe public officials are corrupt, according to findings from the World Justice Project’s Corruption in the Caribbean report. Drawing on nationally representative surveys, the report represents the voices of people in 14 Caribbean countries and their experiences and perceptions of corruption in both the public and private sectors. 

Billions of people around the world have unmet justice needs ranging from serious legal issues to more common issues like money and debt problems. For many, justice can be slow, or even non-existent due to lack of access or affordability of the civil and criminal justice systems.  In Cambodia, Colombia, and Kenya, legal aid and empowerment programs are taking innovative approaches to reach people who need their services most.    WJP recently convened the World Justice Challenge Network to focus on high-impact grassroots efforts to build people-centered justice. It is one way the organization continues to deliver on its goal to advance locally led rule of law solutions. 

Mexico undertook historic criminal justice reform in 2008. But one critical player was left behind: the police. Now, amidst the country’s continued impunity crisis, the World Justice Project is working with local authorities to make up for lost time.

When it comes to resolving problems big and small, access to justice remains elusive for two-thirds of humanity. But new momentum for people-centered justice could change that. At the second Summit for Democracy, a broad coalition of countries and civil society organizations called for a global renewal of a core pillar of democracy–the rule of law. The best way to do so, they said in a joint statement, is to rebuild citizen trust by embracing people-centered justice. More than 5 billion people are caught up in a massive global justice gap, according to research by the World Justice Project (WJP). That includes over 4 billion people who can’t access basic protections the law allows, and 1.5 billion people who cannot solve their legal problems–whether criminal, civil, or administrative–through the justice system.

Discrimination is widespread and getting worse around the world, according to World Justice Project data.  The latest edition of the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index—the world’s leading, independent source of rule of law data—finds that 70% of countries have seen discrimination worsen between 2021 and 2022. Since 2015, discrimination has increased in three-fourths of countries that WJP studied. 

An app inspired by a horrific act of gender-based violence in India is now empowering women and girls around the world to make their communities safer. The World Justice Project spoke to Elsa Marie d’Silva, founder and CEO of the Red Dot Foundation about the Safecity app, which won the World Justice Challenge 2022 in the Equal Rights and Non-Discrimination category. 

Around the world, equality for women and girls is still an ongoing struggle. This International Women’s Day, the United Nations is shining a spotlight on the gender gap in STEM education and careers, as well as the threat of online violence that women face.   Improving women’s rights is a key goal for a number of organizations in the World Justice Challenge network, which includes community-based organizations from around the world that are dedicated to strengthening the rule of law. Several of these organizations are strategically utilizing technology in their work—whether in addressing online harassment, providing women and girls with a digital education or supporting survivors of sexual violence.  

On February 25, Nigerians will elect a new president, with 18 candidates vying for what will likely be a challenging job. Data from the WJP Rule of Law Index 2022 shows Nigeria has experienced a decline in the rule of law for five straight years, and the country now ranks 118 out of 140 countries and jurisdictions studied.  While members of the international community are watching what happens in Africa’s most populous nation with keen interest, a Nigeria-based nonprofit organization, the Samuel Ioron Foundation, is seeking to empower more of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens to vote. 

The rise of disinformation campaigns parallels a global rise of authoritarianism and has created a unique challenge to the rule of law: How can governments combat disinformation while protecting and respecting freedom of expression? Freedom of expression is eroding worldwide, according to the WJP Rule of Law Index. Last year alone, this fundamental freedom declined in 63% of countries studied. Looking back further to 2015, the Index shows freedom of expression has declined in a whopping 81% of countries.   These global trends are mirrored regionally in the Asia Pacific, where many governments have passed laws with the stated purpose of combating disinformation. Unfortunately, these laws also serve to limit free speech and repress criticism.

Ensuring that everyone has equal access to resolution of their legal problems should be an important goal for countries around the world. Strong and accessible civil justice systems allow citizens to resolve grievances effectively without corruption, discrimination, or unnecessary expenses.  Unfortunately, last year, the effectiveness of civil justice systems fell in over three-fifths of countries around the world, according to the 2022 WJP Rule of Law Index. That included countries across the Asia Pacific region, where 62% of states suffered setbacks in civil justice.  In December, the Asia Pacific Justice Forum brought experts from across the region together to discuss justice barriers and share ways in which they are working to create change.

In recent years, countries have struggled to uphold a fundamental aspect of the rule of law: judicial independence. Judicial independence is not easily measured, but three indicators in the WJP Rule of Law Index provide insight into the impartiality of the judiciary, and the data suggest persistent and growing challenges in the Asia Pacific region. 

More than 4.4 billion people live in countries where the rule of law weakened last year, according to the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index. Will these trends continue?

During the opening session of the Asia Pacific Justice Forum (December 8-9, 2022), Professor Margaret Satterthwaite, UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers and professor of clinical law at the New York University School of Law, outlined the importance of an independent judiciary for countering rising authoritarianism.