Rule of Law Index: Georgia ranks top in region, 29th in world

Georgia has topped the list of Eastern European and Central Asian states in a new study ranking countries on how the rule of law is experienced by citizens.

Georgia gained a higher score than any other country in the Caucasus region and also higher than several European Union member states, including Italy, Romania, Greece, Croatia and Hungary in the 2015 Rule of Law Index, which ranked the country after surveys were completed in more than 100 countries.

Globally, the Index ranked Georgia 29th in the list of 102 countries in the 2015 Index, which is published annually by the World Justice Project (WJP). WJP said its Rule of Law Index was the most comprehensive of its kind and the only one that relied on primary data.

The scores were based on responses from 1,000 people in each country who were asked questions about corruption, basic freedoms, regulation and other governance issues, and on testimonies from local legal experts.

Georgia’s 2015 ranking was an increase of two places since the 2014 report, which Georgia placed 31st in the world.

The indicators used in the study were: constraints on government power; absence of corruption; open government; fundamental rights; order and security; regulatory enforcement; civil justice; criminal justice and informal justice.

Georgia received its highest score in the absence of corruption category, where the country placed 22nd in the world. The lowest score it obtained in the criminal justice category, where it ranked 35th.

The 2015 Index leader was Denmark while Venezuela placed at the bottom of the list.