TANZANIA: TANZANIA has made notable progress in the 2024 World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index, climbing two places in the global rankings released last month.
The country is now ranked 96th out of 142 countries and jurisdictions, up from 98th last year, which surveyed 140 countries globally.
In sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania is ranked 11th out of the 34 surveyed nations, improving from last year’s 12th place.
Tanzania’s overall score stands at 0.47, just below the global average of 0.50. The score is on a scale of 0 to 1, where 0.00 represents the weakest adherence to the rule of law and 1.00 represents the strongest. The country’s score reflects significant progress but indicates that there is still room for improvement.
In the category of lower-middle-income countries, Tanzania ranks 15th out of 38 nations and jurisdictions, also improving by two positions.
The WJP Rule of Law Index 2024 categorises countries based on their Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, as defined by the World Bank.
Low-income economies have a GNI per capita of 1,135 US dollars or less, while lower-middle-income economies range from 1,136 US dollars to 4,465 US dollars.
According to Chief Research Officer at WJP, Dr Alejandro Ponce, the rule of law remains a fundamental pillar of peace, justice, human rights, democracy and sustainable development.
However, he warns that many countries are seeing a decline in adherence to the rule of law.
“The 2024 WJP Rule of Law Index reveals that majority of countries are experiencing backsliding, characterised by executive overreach, diminishing human rights and justice systems that fail to meet citizens’ needs,” Dr Ponce said.
The Rule of Law Index evaluates countries based on eight factors, which are essential components of the rule of law. These include – constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice.
Tanzania performed particularly well in the order and security factor, scoring 0.70 points. The country also performed well in constraints on government powers (0.50 points) and civil justice (0.48 points).
The order and security factor evaluates the extent to which the state ensures the security of its citizens and property. It is considered a fundamental aspect of the rule of law, as it supports the realisation of rights and freedoms.
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The constraints on government powers factor examines how well the powers of the government and its agents are limited by law, including the role of nongovernmental checks such as a free press.
The civil justice factor measures the accessibility and fairness of the civil justice system, including whether individuals can resolve disputes effectively and without discrimination, delays or corruption.
Other factors evaluated in the report include the absence of corruption in government (factor 2), the openness of government (factor 3) and the protection of fundamental rights (factor 4).
The regulatory enforcement (factor 6) assesses how effectively and fairly regulations are applied, while the criminal justice (factor 8) looks at the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in addressing offences and ensuring justice.
The WJP Rule of Law Index 2024 reflects the perspectives of over 214,000 ordinary people and 3,500 legal experts from around the world, backed by rigorous validation and analysis.
The report emphasises that an effective rule of law reduces corruption, combats poverty and disease and protects individuals from both large and small injustices.
Dr Ponce said that the rule of law is crucial for building communities of justice, opportunity and peace, which are foundational to development, accountable government and the protection of fundamental rights.
He stressed that the rule of law is not just the domain of lawyers and judges but affects everyone, as it underpins the quality of life, safety and justice for all citizens.
The WJP defines the rule of law as a durable system of laws, institutions, norms and community commitment that ensures accountability, just law, open government and accessible and impartial justice.
Accountability means that government and private actors are answerable under the law, while just law ensures that laws are clear, public, stable and applied evenly.
Open government refers to processes that are transparent, fair and efficient and accessible and impartial justice means that justice is delivered in a timely manner by competent, ethical and independent representatives.
