The World Justice Project (WJP) performed a study in 99 countries all over the world and proposed the WJP Rule of Law Index 2014 (Average ranking 1 is the strongest and 99 is the weakest). Whenever the index is low, it affects negatively the health system, and the foreign investments and justice is applied unequally about criminal violence and fundamental rights leading to dearth in accountability. Whenever the index is high, it affects positively many areas such as education, health system, corruption and poverty.
The index is composed of 8 factors which are: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice. Each factor is composed of dimensions (items) to be measured. The ninth factor (informal justice) has been measured, but is not included in the aggregated scores and rankings of WJP report.
Four universal principles define the Rule of Law as follows (WJP, 2014, p.4):
- The government and its officials and agents as well as individuals and private entities are accountable under the law.
- The laws are clear, publicized, stable, and just; are applied evenly; and protect fundamental rights, including the security of persons and property.
- The process by which the laws are enacted, administered, and enforced is accessible, fair, and efficient.
- Justice is delivered timely by competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals who are of sufficient number, have adequate resources and reflect the makeup of the communities they serve.
According to the report, the most serious challenges for the region Middle East and North Africa are: 1/ the protection of fundamental rights, 2/ the accessibility to official information, and 3/ the constraints on government powers. The strongest performer is UAE (global ranking 27) and the weakest are Egypt (global ranking 74) and Iran (global ranking 82). Morocco (global ranking 52) showed the most improvement in the region in the past year. Concerning Western Europe and North America, the strongest performers are respectively Denmark, Norway then Sweden while the weakest is Bulgaria (global ranking 44). Spain showed the largest decline and perception of corruption in many countries appear to gain momentum. Finally, USA showed significant decline in the system of checks and balances as well as protection of privacy.
The main concerns for Tunisia are: 1/ violation to the rights of life and security, and 2/ due process and privacy. The lowest dimensions for each factor are: sanctions for official misconduct (factor 1); no corruption in the legislature (factor 2); right to information (factor 3); due process of law (factor 4); absence of violent redress (factor 5); no unreasonable delay (factor 6); effective enforcement (factor 7), and effective correctional system (factor 8).
It is clear that in terms of fundamental rights, Tunisia is lagging way behind other countries (rank 64) but is still better than other North African countries such as Morocco (rank 84), and Egypt (rank 90). On that level, Tunisia should guarantee not only equal protection, freedom of opinion and liberty of beliefs among other rights but also should eliminate discrimination and forced child labor. Regulatory enforcement should be carefully reformed because Tunisia ranks (only on this factor) below the average rank of the Middle East and North African countries. This latest factor requires that public interests are not influenced by private interests, that regulations are properly enforced (e.g., environmental standards and workplace safety), and that expropriation of private properties is adequately compensated. Finally, improving all factors would be instrumental in helping the economic and social reforms and would have beneficial implications nationally and internationally.
Table 1: Comparative statistics Tunisia versus other regions
*ME=Middle East; NA=North Africa; WE=Western Europe; NAM=North America.
| Factor | Rank / 99 | Score 0-1 | Average Rank for ME & NA | Average Rank for WE & NAM |
| 1.Constraints on government powers | 41 | 0.58 | 57 | 19 |
| 2.Absence of corruption | 43 | 0.50 | 46 | 22 |
| 3.Open government | 49 | 0.47 | 61 | 21 |
| 4.Fundamental rights | 64 | 0.54 | 76 | 16 |
| 5.Order and security | 41 | 0.77 | 43 | 26 |
| 6.Regulatory enforcement | 47 | 0.52 | 46 | 21 |
| 7.Civil justice | 43 | 0.54 | 49 | 21 |
| 8.Criminal justice | 45 | 0.45 | 48 | 20 |
| Global ranking | 41 | 0.55 | 53 | 21 |
Figure 1: Visual comparison of Rule of Law’s factors in Tunisia versus other regions Constraints on government powers - Absence of corruption - Open government
*The size of the bubble represents the factor in the title
Figure 2: Visual comparison of Rule of Law’s factors in Tunisia versus other regions Fundamental rights – Order and security – Regulatory enforcement
*The size of the bubble represents the factor in the title
Figure 3: Visual comparison of Rule of Law’s factors in Tunisia versus other regions Regulatory enforcement – Civil justice – Criminal justice
*The size of the bubble represents the factor in the title
Note Prepared By: Nawel Amrouche, Ph.D TUNESS Research Team
Refrences:
The World Justice Project: Rule of Law Index 2014 - ISBN (online version): 978-0-9882846-6-1. Available at: http://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index
The sample that took part of the study in Tunisia was composed of 1000 respondents (face-to-face) in Sfax, Sousse and Tunis and it was performed in 2012.