The World Justice Project (WJP) is a nonprofit, civil society organization dedicated to advancing the rule of law worldwide [worldjusticeproject.org]. Founded by William H. Neukom in 2006 as a presidential initiative of the American Bar Association, WJP is now an independent civil society organization. It regularly sponsors the World Justice Challenge, a global competition to reward promising projects to advance the rule of law. Professor Robert Percival, director of Maryland’s Environmental Law Program, and Lecturer in Law Jingjing Zhang served as judges for the final competition held at WJP’s World Justice Forum in The Hague in June 2022.
This year more than 300 projects in 118 countries were entered into the Challenge. Thirty finalists were selected – ten in each of three categories (access to justice, anti-corruption, and equal rights). The finalists were invited to the World Justice Forum in The Hague to present their projects. Professors Zhang and Percival participated as alumni judges because their Transnational Environmental Accountability project had been a finalist for an Access to Justice Award in 2019. More than 1,000 people from 119 countries attended the Forum either in person or through a hybrid online format. Former Maryland law professor Sherrilyn Ifill delivered a keynote address at the Forum (see PHOTO).
The World Justice Forum seeks to encourage respect for the rule of law consistent with Sustainable Development Goal #16 “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.” This goal pledges the nations of the world to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.” To help build more just communities the winning projects of this year’s Challenge included a project from India that maps where reports of sexual violence occur, a project to expedite judicial appeals in Cambodia, a project allowing the public the track the progress of anti-corruption prosecutions in Nigeria and a mobile courts project to reduce pretrial incarceration in Ghana. Each of the winning projects received a $20,000 award to encourage its expansion. More than 1,000 people from 119 countries attended the Forum either in person or through a hybrid online format. Former Maryland law professor Sherrilyn Ifill delivered a keynote address at the Forum (see PHOTO). Professor Zhang also gave a presentation on “The Law’s Role in Protecting the Most Vulnerable Populations from Climate Change,” which proved to be one of the most popular sessions at the Forum.
The World Justice Forum was held against a backdrop of an alarmingly widespread decline in respect for the rule of law around the globe. The WJP conducts annual surveys of the state of the rule of law to prepare an annual Rule of Law Index [https://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index/]. In each of the four years from 2018 to 2021 more countries saw their scores decline than improve. In its most recent survey of 138,000 households and 4,200 legal practitioners in 139 countries, WJP found that the rule of law declined in 74 percent of countries representing 84 percent of the world’s population. Overall declines occurred in seven of the eight categories that comprise the index. These include constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice. The only category that improved was “order and security.”
Several factors have contributed to decline in the rule of law. Dictatorial governments in countries like China, Russia, Myanmar, Belarus, and Venezuela have grown increasingly repressive. Democratic countries such as Hungary, the Philippines, and Brazil have produced populist leaders with little regard for the rule of law when it gets in their way. The global COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated declines in the rule of law as many governments declared states of emergency. Pandemic-related restrictions are easing, but damage to the rule of law may be longer lasting.
The powerful lesson from this year’s World Justice Challenge is that, despite alarming erosion of the rule of law, civil society groups are more determined than ever to resist erosion of the rule of law and to promote initiatives that foster people-centered justice.