Rule of Law Index faults China, US

WASHINGTON: An annual survey of the rule of law around the world released on Monday sees weak protections for fundamental rights in China, “serious deficiencies” in Russia and problems with discrimination in the United States.

Sweden and Norway scored highest on the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, which ranks countries on such key areas as whether the government is held accountable, there is access to justice, rights are protected and crime and corruption is prevented.

“Achieving the rule of law is a constant challenge and a work in progress in all countries,” said Hongsia Liu, the executive director of the project, which was funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

He added that the index was “not designed to shame or blame, but to provide useful reference points for countries in the same regions, with comparable legal cultures and similar income levels.”

The Philippines performed well relative to lower middle income countries on most dimensions, although it still required further efforts in many areas.

The country stood out for having reasonably effective checks and balances on the government’s power (ranking 3rd out of 16 income-group peers), including a vibrant civil society, a free media and an independent judiciary.

The Philippines also outperformed most lower-middle income countries in the area of effective regulatory enforcement, ranking 4th out of 16 countries.

Nonetheless, civil conflict and political violence remained significant challenges (ranking 56th).

Of particular concern were shortcomings in fundamental rights (ranking 40th), particularly in violations against the right to life and security of the person (ranking 57th); police abuses; due process violations; and harsh conditions in correctional facilities; as well as deficiencies in the electoral process.

The civil court system also obtained poor scores (ranking 12th out of 13 in the region and 56th globally), attributable to deficient enforcement mechanisms, corruption among judges and law enforcement officers and the lengthy duration of cases.

These factors may explain why few people use the court system to solve disputes.

According to a general population poll of 1,000 people in Manila, Davao and Cebu, only 5 percent of them who had a debt-collection dispute went to court.

Out of those polled, nobody had the conflict resolved in less than a year.

In the case of China, the report noted that the Asian giant had made “major improvements” in the quality, effectiveness and accountability of its legal institutions.

It came in second after Brazil among the so-called BRIC group of emerging powers—Brazil, Russia, India and China.

But more progress was needed in the area of judicial independence, the report said.

“Indicators of fundamental rights are also weak, including labor rights (ranking 61st out of 66), freedom of assembly (ranking 66th), and freedom of speech (ranking 66th),” it added.

On India, the report found strong free speech protections, an independent judiciary and a relatively open government with functioning checks and balances.

“However, the unsatisfactory performance of public administrative bodies keeps generating a negative impact on the rule of law,” it said.

India’s courts are congested, processing of cases is slow and law enforcement is deficient, with significant corruption and police discrimination and abuses “not unusual,” the report added.

Of the BRIC countries, Russia fared the worst in the rankings.

“The country shows serious deficiencies in checks and balances among the different branches of government (ranking 55th), leading to an institutional environment characterized by corruption, impunity, and political interference,” it said.

“Violations against some fundamental rights, such as freedom of opinion, freedom of association, and arbitrary interference of privacy are areas of concern,” the report added.

The rule of law was also found wanting in countries like Iran, long at odds with the international community over its nuclear program and which ranked last in the world on protection of fundamental rights.

“As a state-dominated country, law enforcement in the country is relatively strong, but often used as an instrument to perpetrate abuses and favor the elites,” the report said.

“Government accountability is weak (ranking 59th globally and last within the region), and corruption is prevalent. Courts, although fairly efficient, are subject to corruption and political interference,” it added.

In Latin America, Venezuela was rated “the worst performer in the world in accountability and effective checks on the executive power.

“Corruption appears to be widespread (ranking 54th), crime and violence are common (ranking 64th), government institutions are non-transparent, and the criminal justice system is ineffective and subject to political influence (ranking 66th).

“The country also displays serious flaws in guaranteeing respect for fundamental rights, in particular, freedom of opinion and expression and the right to privacy,” the report said.

Western Europe was the top performing region of the world with most countries, except Italy, getting high marks in most categories. –AFP