In comparison with last year, Albania has fallen nineteen places on the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index. The Rule of Law Index is a global survey, this year including “more than 100,000 household and expert surveys to measure how the rule of law is experienced in practical, everyday situations by the general public worldwide.”
Last year, Albania ranked 53nd out of 102 monitored countries. This year, Albania ranks 72nd out of 113, with its overall score dropping from 0.52 to 0.5.
Within the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, only Albania, Turkey, and Russia have dropped in their position.
It appears that most of the downward trend is caused by a significant drop in the score for “Open Government,” which reflects the extent to which the government publicizes its laws and government data, honors the right to information, encourages civil participation, and institutes complaint mechanisms for citizens. In the latter three categories, Albania performs significantly less than last year.
Compared to other countries in the region, Albania ranks in the bottom as regards absence of corruption, open government, and regulatory enforcement. Within the region, only Moldova and Kyrgyzstan are considered more corrupt, whereas only Belarus, Turkey, and Uzbekistan are less transparent. Regulatory enforcement is only worse in Moldova, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan.
The full Rule of Law Index report of 2016 can be downloaded here.
