Brain Booster for UPSC & State PCS Examination (Topic: Rule of Law Index)

Brain Booster for UPSC & State PCS Examination

Topic: Rule of Law Index

Rule of Law Index

The Supreme Court on 18th June 2020 has refused to entertain a plea seeking a direction to the Centre, states and UTs to set up expert committees to improve India’s “pathetic” 69th global ranking on the Rule of Law Index (RLI).

The Supreme Court has asked the government to treat a writ petition as a “representation” and respond within six months.
For, it is not a judicial issue, but a matter for government consideration. The decision was taken by the bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and A S Bopanna.

This index is published by the World Justice Project (WJP), which is an independent, multidisciplinary organization working to advance the rule of law worldwide. Founded by William H. Neukom in 2006 as a presidential initiative of the American Bar Association (ABA), and with the initial support of 21 other strategic partners.
It covers 128 countries and jurisdictions, the Index relies on national surveys of more than 130,000 households and 4,000 legal practitioners and experts to measure how the rule of law is experienced and perceived around the world.
Performance is assessed through 44 indicators organized around 8 themes: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice. A ninth theme added to this dimension is of informal justice.
WJP defines the Rule of Law as a system in which following four universal principles are ingrained — accountability of government and its officials and agents under the law; clear, publicised, stable and fair laws that protect fundamental rights including security of persons and property; accessible, efficient and fair process by which laws are enacted, administered, and enforced; and delivery of justice by competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals in sufficient number and having adequate resources and reflecting the make- up of the communities they serve.

Denmark, Norway, and Finland topped the WJP Rule of Law Index rankings in 2020.
Venezuela, Cambodia, and DR Congo had the lowest overall rule of law scores—the same as in 2019.
This year, for the first time, the United States fell out of the top 20 countries, replaced by Spain. France fell from 17 to 20, with Singapore trading places with United Kingdom, moving from 13 to 12.
Countries with the strongest improvement in rule of law were Ethiopia (5.6% increase in score, driven primarily by gains in Constraints on Government Powers and Fundamental Rights) and Malaysia (5.1%, driven primarily by gains in Constraints on Government Powers, Fundamental Rights, and Regulatory Enforcement).
The most downward movement in the rule of law was seen in Cameroon (-4.4%, driven primarily by falling scores in Order and Security and Fundamental Rights) and Iran (-4.2%, driven primarily by falling scores in Criminal Justice).