All News

Today we are pleased to introduce the World Justice Project (WJP) Open Government Index™ 2015, the first effort to measure government openness based on the general public’s experiences and perceptions worldwide.

At one time, rigorous measurement and data collection were largely unfamiliar concepts to the governance, development, and rule of law communities. It’s increasingly accepted, however, that efforts to track and analyze the status and reform of government institutions are far from supplemental—they are absolutely essential to understanding and improving these systems. The bigger issue facing advocates seeking responsible, responsive, and functional governments is, rather, what type of measurement will best isolate problems and inspire progress.

On March 26th, the World Justice Project (WJP) will launch the WJP Open Government Index™ 2015, the first effort to measure government openness based on the general public’s perspective. The Index uses four dimensions to measure government openness: publicized laws and government data, right to information, civic participation, and complaint mechanisms.

Update: For the most recent news and materials from our convening in Senegal, please visit: The Rule of Law in Senegal The World Justice Project will be in Dakar to convene “The Rule of Law in Senegal” on 10-12 March, 2015. The meeting and workshop will bring together 50 leaders from business, academia, civil society, and government to assess current rule of law challenges and opportunities in Senegal. 

As we mark International Women’s Day on March 8th, we have the occasion to review the progress and setbacks for women’s rights around the world. The World Justice Project is honored to work with a diverse network to identify and remove the barriers that prevent women and girls from having equal rights.

The World Justice Project is pleased to be in Jarkata, Indonesia on 19-21 January, 2015, for a country workshop bringing together a wide range of invited stakeholders—including leaders from business, academia, civil society and government—from across Indonesia to assess current rule of law challenges and opportunities.

The Namati Justice Prize was created to shine a light on the ways people find to secure justice. The World Justice Project is an institutional partner of the Namati Justice Prize. Bushenyi is a pretty, rural district in the south-west of Uganda known for its plantations of bananas and tea. It has 127 government-run primary schools. Not long ago one of them had a very embarrassed headmistress.

On December 4th, an advance, unedited version of the UN Secretary-General’s synthesis report on the post-2015 agenda was released: “The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet.” The report will be formally issued in the six official languages of the UN on December 31st.

Today, on International Anti-Corruption Day, we take a look back at our 2014 WJP Rule of Law Index corruption data.

The inaugural conference of the Rule of Law Research Consortium (RLRC) was held on October 31-November 1, 2014, at the University of Chicago Law School. In former professor Barack Obama's favorite lecture hall, over 30 leading researchers from around the world came together to consider the state of the art on the rule of law, integrating theoretical and practical perspectives.

William C. Hubbard, WJP board chair and current ABA president, authored an opinion piece in the Winnipeg Free Press yesterday marking the 25-year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the analysis, Hubbard underlines the value of continued support for reform efforts abroad in support of the rule of law:

What We Know & Don’t Know About the Rule of LawDate: Friday, October 31, 2014 - 9:00am to Saturday, November 1, 2014 - 1:00pm Location: University of Chicago School of Law, Room V

Policymakers from East LA to West Africa struggle to implement policies to reduce violence and improve the rule of law, and often lack the time to review the available scholarship—which often comes up short in addressing the practical and political issues they confront on a daily basis.

The World Justice Project is pleased to announce the Union of Turkish Bar Associations has joined the WJP as a strategic partner.  WJP Strategic Partners are organizations that provide global leadership in a variety of disciplines, expanding awareness and discussion of the rule of law around the world.

This post first appeared on the blog of the International Network to Promote the Rule of Law.

This post was co-authored by Sam Muller and Martin Gramatikov. It first appeared on Innovating Justice on August 28, 2014.  

With rapid urbanization taking place across South Asia, countries such as Nepal face increasing difficulties in providing adequate security, as populations in cities grow rapidly. Many of these issues disporportionately affect youths, due to the draining of young workers from rural areas.

When you think of “the rule of law,” you probably don’t picture musicians working with lawyers to ensure their intellectual property rights, or health workers in Cameroon tackling corruption in free clinics, or environmentalists in China working with victims of pollution to hold dirty industries accountable.