Ethiopia ranked lowest on 2014 global & regional rule of law index

May 8, 2014

by Keffyalew Gebremedhin – The Ethiopia Observatory

The World Justice Project (WJP) has published its fourth report – the 2014 Rule of Law Index. This year, WJP’s indices have paid attention to situations in 99 countries in all regions.

Its founder and CEO William H. Neukom says, “The rule of law is the foundation for communities of opportunity and equity — it is the predicate for the eradication of poverty, violence, corruption, pandemics, and other threats to civil society.”

WJP researchers claim that the project uses a working definition of the rule of law, based on four universal principles. These are derived from internationally accepted standards, the principles of which uphold:

1.   The government and its officials are agents as well as individuals and private entities are accountable under the law.

2.   The laws are clear, publicized, stable, and just; are applied evenly; and protect fundamental rights, including the security of persons and property.

3.   The process by which the laws are enacted, administered, and enforced is accessible, fair, and efficient

4.   Justice is delivered timely by competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals who are of sufficient number and have adequate resources, and reflect the make-up of the communities they serve.

Viewed through the prism of these four, nine aggregate indicators (factors) (listed below) and 47 specific standards, Ethiopia’s performance is very bad, ranking globally 88th out of 99 states.

This overall ranking in the rule of law is calculated by taking average of the eight factors listed below, with amplifications.

Surely, for Ethiopian citizens this would not come as a surprise or news something they have known in their daily lives. Above all, there is no better witness than national and individual experiences.

Similarly, among the 18 Sub-Saharan African states that are looked in the current report, Ethiopia is ranked 17th of 18 the 18 states assessed from the region. While Botswana is graded top, Zimbabwe is placed at the bottom.

List of the eight factors and their explanations is presented hereunder.