The World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2026 was published last week, and has some interesting lessons for us all.
First, the WJP says that ‘the global rule of law recession continues’, and authoritarianism is now entrenched.
Some of the major newsworthy players do very badly in the rankings. The United States was once a heady 18th in the world in terms of rule of law, and has now fallen to 30th place out of 143 countries – we all know why. China is in 92ndplace, up a few places over the last few years, but this was after a precipitate drop from its high 70th place some years back, until it bottomed out recently and began climbing slowly again. The Russian Federation has mostly been dropping steeply for the last few years, and is now in 121st place, whereas much-maligned Ukraine is in 87th place, having dropped about 10 places since the start of its invasion by Russia. Israel is not part of the study, and Iran sits at 128thoverall, having also seen a steep drop in recent years.
But of course we are interested in the UK. We are still holding on in the top 20 in the world, sitting at 18th, but we dropped four places over the last year, our biggest annual drop in a slow decline from our height at 10th position in 2016-2017. As for our major European competitors, France is now ranked at 23, Germany at six, Italy at 35. The top four spots are taken, as usual, by Scandinavian countries.
There are various criteria measured: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice.
Why did we drop? We dropped in all the criteria except regulatory enforcement, where we remained even, and the biggest drop was in order and security (three places). Interestingly, the US would have dropped even further in the rankings – for instance, it dropped seven places in fundamental rights – had it not risen four places in order and security.
Each of the criteria – or as they call them ‘factors’ – is explained. So order and security, on which we saw our highest drop and the US its highest rise – covers how well a society ensures the security of people and property. The WJP explains that security is one of the defining aspects of rule of law and a fundamental function of the state. Without it, rights and freedoms cannot be realised. They look at whether crime is controlled, civil conflict limited, and people not resorting to violence to resolve disputes. The US rose from 35 to 31 under that criterion, whereas we dropped from 30 to 33 – in other words, the US beat us. I have not lived in both countries, but it doesn’t correspond to my own sense of order and security in the two places. Yet we should learn from external observers.
Despite the report’s overall gloomy assessment, some things improved – but not in the UK. So, overall around the world, civil justice is becoming more accessible, affordable, and equal. Accessibility and affordability of civil justice improved in 54% of countries, but not in the UK. The sentiment that civil justice is free of discrimination improved in 52% of countries, but not in the UK.
The index relies on more than 215,000 household surveys and 3,400 legal practitioner and expert surveys for its measurements on how the rule of law is experienced and perceived worldwide. This might explain why relative differences, like the one between order and security in the UK and US that I highlighted, might appear out of whack: what seems negligible in the context of one country might seem a big deal in another.
The usual commentary is published about how the rule of law is connected to economic prosperity. We are assured that key economic outcomes, like growth and price stability, depend on a healthy and functional rule of law system; that upholding contractual obligations, protecting property rights, and ensuring the timeliness of administrative proceedings have implications for the ability to maintain a stable and predictable business environment.
This sounds mighty fine, until we see that China, whose economy has grown so enormously over recent years, is placed at a lowly 92 in the world rankings. No explanation is given for why its economy has otherwise expanded, although others have pointed to the efficiency of its justice system. If that is the case, an efficient justice system would appear to have not much to do with the rule of law. Looking at all countries overall, it is true that there is a positive link between economy and good rule of law. But until the China puzzle is solved, the boosterism linking the economy to the rule of law should be treated with suspicion.
As for the UK, we should worry whether our slide in the rankings is inexorable.
Jonathan Goldsmith is Law Society Council member for EU & International, chair of the Law Society’s Policy & Regulatory Affairs Committee and a member of its board. All views expressed are personal and are not made in his capacity as a Law Society Council member, nor on behalf of the Law Society
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