Russia Ranks Dismally in Rule of Law Index

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – 11.29.12) Russia ranked dismally in the yearly Rule of Law Index published by the nongovernmental World Justice Project, scoring in the bottom third for each of the ranking’s eight criteria.

Russia ranked 92nd out of 97 countries for the extent to which its government’s powers are limited, 92nd for order and security and 71st for absence of corruption, faring worse than Belarus, Mexico and Cote d’Ivoire, respectively.

For fundamental rights including freedom of expression and absence of discrimination, Russia placed 83rd in the report published on the World Justice Project’s website. [http://worldjusticeproject.org/]

Russia also scored poorly in the categories for open government, criminal justice and regulatory enforcement. It highest position, 65th, was for the enforcement of civil justice.

In the Rule of Law Index, the highest scores went to Norway and Sweden, who were closely followed by other Western European countries, Japan and the United States.

According to its website, the World Justice Project is an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop “communities of opportunity and equity by advancing the rule of law worldwide.”

The organization was established in 2006 by the American Bar Association.