"The Index is incredibly useful, not just for academic researchers, who might be interested in how to improve rule of law, but also for people who are working on the ground day to day in this area." -- Jenny S. Martinez
 
The WJP Rule of Law Index relies on over 100,000 household and expert surveys to measure how the rule of law is experienced in everyday life around the world. In advance of the launch of the WJP Rule of Law Index 2014, we asked leading global voices to share their thoughts on the importance of the rule of law and the World Justice Project's efforts to measure it.
 
Here's what Jenny S. Martinez of Stanford Law School has to say about #WJPIndex.
 
 
About Jenny Martinez
 
Jenny S. Martinez is a leading human rights lawyer, expert on international courts and tribunals, international human rights, national security, constitutional law, and the laws of war. Her research focuses on the role of courts and tribunals in advancing and protecting human rights, ranging from her work on the all-but-forgotten 19th-century international tribunals involved in the suppression of the trans-Atlantic slave trade through her work on contemporary institutions like the International Criminal Court and the role of courts in policing human rights abuses in connection with anti-terrorism policies. She has also written extensively on national security law and the constitutional separation of powers.
 
She is the author of The Slave Trade and the Origins of International Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2012) and numerous articles in leading academic journals. Her op-eds have been published in The New York Timesand Washington Post, and she has been an expert commentator for both print and broadcast media including ABC World News, CNN, PBS Newshour, NPR,The Washington Post, The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and others. She teaches courses in international law, international human rights law, constitutional law, and civil procedure. She is a faculty affiliate of Stanford's Center on International Security and Cooperation and Stanford’s Center on Democracy Development and the Rule of Law.

 

WJP Staff
title bar

Read More

title bar
The Warsaw Principles for the Rule of Law

WARSAW, Poland – 26 June 26, 2025 – A global coalition of organizational leaders and justice advocates issued an urgent call to action today to reverse the worldwide decline in the rule of law, marked by the release of the Warsaw Principles at the conclusion of the 2025 World Justice Forum. The Warsaw Principles represent a unified front against rising authoritarian pressures and a framework for collective action to strengthen accountability.

Read More
Chief Justice Zondo accepts the World Justice Project Rule of Law Award

WARSAW, Poland – June 12, 2025 – Former South African Chief Justice Raymond Zondo was awarded the prestigious World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Award in recognition of his unwavering commitment to justice and his courageous efforts in exposing systemic corruption. The award was presented by WJP Board Vice President Judy Perry Martinez at the 2025 World Justice Forum, a global gathering of rule of law champions. Polish Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar, a prior recipient of the award in 2019, made accompanying remarks.

Read More
Adam Bodnar remarks at the World Justice Forum 2025 Opening Reception

WARSAW, Poland – 23 June, 2025 – Hundreds of global leaders, jurists, and human rights champions gathered in Warsaw—a city with a profound history in the struggle for freedom—for the opening of the 2025 World Justice Forum. The summit aims to mobilize collective action against a rising tide of authoritarianism and reverse the global rule of law recession.

Read More