Bangladesh slips 2 rungs on Rule of Law Index
Rule of law fell globally for the fifth consecutive year
Bangladesh's overall rule of law score decreased 1.5% in this year's Index, placing it 127th out of 140 countries worldwide, falling two positions since last year.
Regionally, it ranked 4 out of 6 countries in South Asia, according to the 2022 World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index.
The region's top performer is Nepal (ranked 69th out of 140 globally), followed by Sri Lanka and India, said the report released on Wednesday.
The three countries with the lowest scores in the region are Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan (138th globally).
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Among lower-middle income countries, Bangladesh ranked 29th out of 38.
Globally, the top-ranked country in the WJP Rule of Law Index 2022 is Denmark, followed by Norway, Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
The country with the lowest score is Venezuela, then Cambodia, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Haiti.
Bangladesh's fall was in line with the global trend. For the fifth year in a row, the rule of law declined globally, said the report released today.
The World Justice Project's original data in 140 countries and jurisdictions shows that adherence to the rule of law fell in 61% of countries this year.
Globally, 4.4 billion people live in countries where rule of law has declined over the past year.
"We are emerging from the pandemic, but the global rule of law recession continues," said Elizabeth Andersen, executive director of the WJP.
"At its heart, rule of law is about fairness–that is, accountability, equal rights, and justice for all. And a less fair world is bound to be a more volatile one."
Index data shows that authoritarian trends that predate the pandemic—such as weaker checks on executive power and increased attacks on the media—continue to erode the rule of law globally.
However, declines are less widespread and extreme than last year, when Covid shutdowns dramatically disrupted justice systems, and governments exercised emergency powers that curtailed civic freedoms and bypassed transparency mechanisms.
The WJP Rule of Law Index is the world's leading source of independent rule of law data. It draws on in-depth surveys with more than 154,000 everyday people and 3,600 legal practitioners and experts to measure rule of law across eight factors: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice, and Criminal Justice.
Some of the biggest global declines this year were in the Index factors associated with rising authoritarianism and the longer-term erosion of rule of law.
Checks on government powers— such as oversight by the judiciary, legislature, and media—fell in 58% of countries this year.
The other top factor driving this year's global declines is Civil Justice.
