A new global rule of law index has ranked Ukraine 78th out of 113 countries, an improvement of three places on its standing in 2015. The report was released Oct. 20 by Washington-based think tank the World Justice Project.
Ukraine’s position puts it 14 places above neighboring Russia but below states such as Belarus, Botswana and the United Arab Emirates.
The publication of the report comes as Ukraine approaches the three-year anniversary of the EuroMaidan Revolution. The demands of that uprising, which eventually led to the ouster of ex-president and Kremlin-ally Viktor Yanukovych, included greater rule of law and closer integration with the European Union.
The organization calculated each nation’s score based on measurements taken across nine different categories.
“Ukraine obtains relatively high marks in the areas of open government and fundamental rights,” Alejandro Ponce, the report’s chief author, told the Kyiv Post. “On the other side, Ukraine still faces challenges in the areas of checks and balances on the power of the executive, corruption and regulatory enforcement. In comparison to other countries, the courts are relatively efficient, but affected by undue influence and corruption.”
Those conclusions come as no surprise to local experts and legal professionals in Ukraine. They say in spite of promises of reform from President Petro Poroshenko, little has changed on the ground.
“There is still a lack of political will at the highest levels to tackle corruption and there is still a lot of pressure on the judicial system. The real criminals remain on the streets and not enough effort is being made to prosecute them,” says Timur Bondaryev, a managing partner at the Kyiv office of law firm Arzinger.
When compared to regional neighbors, Ukraine came 9th out of the 13 nations included in the Eastern Europe and Central Asian bloc. Elsewhere in the group, Turkey took last place, a standing which translated to 99th in the global list.
According to Ponce, the picture for the area overall is largely unchanged from 2015 but there have been some big losers.
“Albania, Russia, and Turkey have all experienced a fall in their global rankings this year,” he said. “This change was greatest in Albania, which has fallen nine positions as a result of a downward trend in the area of open government. Russia has also fallen six places in the global rankings, which can be partly attributed to a downward trend in the area of order and security.”
Georgia, meanwhile, was assessed as being the region’s best performer for the second year in a row. Its global ranking of 34 was one place lower than last year but still ahead of EU member states Italy, Greece and Hungary. Its success, however, cannot easily be replicated in larger nations like Ukraine, according to Bondaryev.
“Ukraine has its own story,” he told the Kyiv Post. “In Georgia they have not had to deal with oligarchs in the same way that we have in Ukraine. Here, the oligarchs are able to exert significant political influence. We should applaud Georgia, but be aware that it is not necessarily a model we can or should follow.”
Looked at on a global scale, the index shows that countries from western Europe and North America score highest on rule of law, occupying eight of the top ten places. The rankings are led by Denmark and Norway whose positions as first and second, respectively, remain unchanged from 2015. Still, even their high scores leave room for improvement.
“Effective rule of law is the foundation for communities of peace, equity, and opportunity. No country has ever attained – let alone sustained – a perfect realization of the rule of law,” notes William Neukom, the founder and CEO of the World Justice Project.
The think tank says its rankings were compiled based on thousands of expert and household surveys, in order attain a picture of how people experience rule of law in everyday life.
The report states: “The rule of law is not the rule of lawyers and judges: all elements of society are stakeholders…every nation faces the perpetual challenge of building and renewing the structures, institutions, and norms that can support and sustain a rule of law culture.”
