SINGAPORE - A ranking of the strength of the rule of law in various nations and jurisdictions showed Singapore holding steady amid a decline in scores across most of the globe for 2022.
The ranking was compiled by the World Justice Project (WJP), an independent advocacy group based in the United States. Singapore remained in 17th spot out of 140 countries and jurisdictions, and fourth out of 15 in the East Asia and Pacific region.
The annual index, which was released on Wednesday, measures how the rule of law is experienced and perceived in practical, everyday situations. Performance is measured using 44 indicators across eight main factors, each scored and ranked globally and regionally.
The eight factors are constraints on government power, government openness, absence of corruption, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, the criminal justice system and the civil justice system.
Globally, Singapore ranked in the top 10 in five factors: absence of corruption, order and security, regulatory enforcement, criminal justice and civil justice.
The Republic’s ranking improved two places to 30th for constraints on government powers, dropped one spot to 35th for government openness, and fell one notch to 39th for fundamental rights.
Singapore’s overall score in the 2022 index was 0.78, a drop of less than 1 per cent from 2021. Its performance has been relatively stable since scoring 0.81 in 2015.
For the fifth consecutive year, the rule of law weakened in more countries than those where it improved, said the WJP. Chief research officer Alejandro Ponce said the results of the report showed that adherence to the rule of law fell in 61 per cent of the countries in the past year.
However, the declines in the past year are less widespread and extreme than those in 2021, when Covid-19 shutdowns dramatically disrupted justice systems and curtailed civic liberties.
According to the 2022 report, respect for fundamental rights declined in two-thirds of the countries, while checks on government powers fell in 58 per cent of them.
The key factors driving 2022’s global declines continued to be related to the pandemic. Scores measuring the performance of the civil justice system fell in 61 per cent of countries, mainly owing to justice delays and discrimination.
“We are emerging from the pandemic, but the global rule of law recession continues,” said WJP executive director Elizabeth Andersen.
“At its heart, rule of law is about fairness – that is, accountability, equal rights, and justice for all. And a less fair world is bound to be a more volatile one.”
The top performers for 2022 are Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands. Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Cambodia and Venezuela round off the bottom.
Regionally, New Zealand, Australia and Japan were ahead of Singapore; the Philippines, Myanmar and Cambodia scored the lowest.
Ten of the 15 countries in the region saw their scores decline in the past year, with Myanmar registering a 7.7 per cent drop and Hong Kong a 2.8 per cent dip.
Singapore continued to top the regional tables for absence of corruption, order and security, and civil and criminal justice systems.
The index drew on in-depth surveys of more than 154,000 members of the public and 3,600 legal practitioners and experts, with data collected from February to June 2022.
