Capturing the rule of law changes during a global pandemic.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and reinforced longstanding structural inequalities and governance weaknesses. On October 14th we launched the 2021 World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index®️, the world’s leading source for original rule of law data. The 2021 Index is the first in this annual series to capture rule of law changes during the global COVID-19 pandemic. 

Since 2009, WJP has documented rule of law trends in its annual WJP Rule of Law Index®, expanded this year to cover 139 countries and jurisdictions. The Index relies on survey responses gathered from more than 138,000 households and 4,200 experts to measure how the rule of law is experienced and perceived in practical, everyday situations. The Index covers such rule of law factors as constraints on government power, fundamental rights, corruption, discrimination, security, and the functioning of regulatory, criminal, and civil justice systems. This quantitative tool provides citizens, governments, policymakers, donors, businesses, media, academics, and civil society organizations around the world with a comprehensive comparative analysis of countries’ adherence to universal rule of law principles. 

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Photo by: Mauricio Palos

Filmmaker and WJP Researcher Roberto Hernandez Captures the High Human Cost of Incomplete Justice Reform in Mexico

In the first two weeks of its release, the gripping Netflix docuseries Reasonable Doubt: A Tale of Two Kidnappings became one of the most watched shows in Mexico and a trending program in the United States. It follows the nightmarish ordeal of four men who face an ever-morphing series of criminal charges despite a startling lack of evidence and recanted eyewitness testimony. 

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standing for the rule of law 2021

Standing for Rule of Law in 2021

  In a year of enormous rule of law challenges around the globe, the World Justice Project sounded the alarm that 85% of the world’s population now live in countries where rule of law is declining. Throughout 2021, WJP worked to track and reverse these trends.

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