World Justice Forum Convene In Vienna

November 20, 2009

Vienna - The World Justice Forum, after its historical inauguration last year, convened again on November 11-14, in Vienna, Austria. It is the second global gathering of leaders from a variety of disciplines and from all parts of the world that come together to learn how the rule of law affects their disciplines and regions and to incubate collaborative actions to strengthen the rule of law.

The rule of law as promoted by the World Justice Forum is not ideological or political. It is based on four universal principles: The government and its agents are accountable to the law; laws must be clear, stable and fair, and protect fundamental rights, including property and personal security; laws must be enacted and enforced through an accessible, fair, efficient and transparent process; and laws must be upheld, and access to justice is assured, by competent, ethical and independent enforcement officers, lawyers and judges.

In 2002, the UN Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Paddy Ashdown, observed in an article to New York Times: “…we thought that democracy was the highest priority, and we measured it by the number of elections we could organize. The result seven years later is that the people of Bosnia have grown weary of voting. In addition, the focus on elections slowed our efforts to tackle organized crime and corruption, which have jeopardized quality of life and scared off foreign investment. In hindsight, we should have put the establishment of the rule of law first, for everything else depends on it: a functioning economy, a free and fair political system, the development of civil society, public confidence in police and the courts. We would do well to reflect on this as we formulate our plans for Afghanistan and, perhaps, Iraq.”

Seven years later, this observation is still valid and relevant. A quick read of recent news headlines shows that communities around the world are grappling with many seemingly intractable problems: corruption in infrastructure projects, lack of environmental protections, and discrimination against women in property rights, among others. All such problems are rooted in the lack of the rule of law. Indeed, the rule of law impacts the daily lives and the work of everyone. Accordingly, stakeholders of the rule of law are not just lawyers and judges. They come from the diverse fields of arts, business, education, health, labor, religion, sciences and more.

The second edition of the World Justice Forum featured the findings of the Rule of Law Index, the first comprehensive and independent tool based on empirical studies to measure countries’ adherence to the rule of law. The United States is one of 35 countries that was measured in this first round. The study scored the United States’ compliance with international law at 0.39 on a scale of zero to one—well behind the 0.66 average score for 10 other high-income countries in North America, Western Europe and Asia. The countries in the Middle East and North Africa in the initial round of the Index were: Jordan and Morocco.

Out of the 68 aspects of the rule of law measured by the Index, Jordan's highest scores were in the sufficiency of the number of competent attorneys, the prohibition and publication of crimes against property, the protection of private economic activity, the treatment of persons according to international law and court access for defendants with language barriers. According to the report, Jordan's scores in these areas are above the average recorded for other lower middle income countries, the category under which Jordan falls. The country’s lowest scores were in access by interested parties to the administrative process, public availability of proposed rules, public disclosure of government information, access to competent legal services for the poor and public access to government proceedings. In these fields, Jordan scored below average for countries of similar socioeconomic status.

For Morocco. its highest scores were in the sufficiency of the number of competent attorneys, the prohibition and publication of crimes against property, the protection of private economic activity, and the availability of adequate training and resources for the police. Morocco’s lowest scores were in the judiciary’s independence of government control, level of accountability of attorneys, access by interested parties to the administrative process, and timely access to government proceedings and decisions. The Rule of Law Index 2009 report was compiled using two main sources of data: a general poll that included an average of 1,000 individuals in three cities per country; and a questionnaire consisting of open- and closed-ended questions completed by in-country practitioners and academicians with expertise in civil and commercial law, criminal justice, labor law and public health. Among different factors, it measures whether government officers are accountable to the people, whether laws and administrative processes are efficient and protect fundamental rights, and whether people have access to justice. Next year, the Index will cover the same 35 countries and 35 additional ones for a total of 70. The World Justice Project will cover 100 countries by 2011.

It is worth noting that the Rule of Law Index is not designed to grade, blame or shame, but rather to identify areas of strength and weakness for use by governments, businesses, and civil society organizations to identify areas for intervention. Using the index data as guidance, the recently concluded World Justice Forum also incubated action-oriented programs and is anticipated to allocate follow-up financial support through an Opportunity Fund.

As a non-political and multidisciplinary effort, the World Justice Forum is supported by contributions from independent foundations, professional associations, and concerned corporations and citizens around the world. The World Justice Forum is not about political ideologies, but the rule of law in practice; its focus is not around lawyers and judges, but multidisciplinary coalitions; and its objectives is concrete action, not lofty declarations.