Malta Ranks 30th on Global Rule of Law Index, Reflecting Regional Challenges

October 31 2024 09:48:48 by PCLMedia

Malta ranks 30th out of 142 countries in the World Justice Project (WJP) Global Rule of Law Index, maintaining its position from the previous year but lagging behind many peers in Europe and North America. With an overall score of 0.67 out of 1, Malta places 22nd out of 30 in the European Union, European Free Trade Association, and North America group, with only nine countries in the region scoring lower, including Cyprus, Italy, and Hungary.

This year’s report by the WJP highlights a concerning global trend, with rule of law indicators declining in 57% of surveyed countries, including Malta. Regional leaders Denmark, Norway, and Finland topped both European and global rankings, with Denmark achieving the highest global score.

About the World Justice Project and the Rule of Law Index The World Justice Project (WJP) is an independent, multidisciplinary organization working to advance the rule of law globally. Its Global Rule of Law Index is a benchmark that measures countries' adherence to the rule of law based on various criteria. The WJP’s mission emphasizes justice, security, and accountability as essential to advancing human rights and sustainable development. Since its establishment, the WJP has supported programs and data-driven initiatives in over 100 countries to promote fair governance and address issues like corruption and legal inequality.

The Rule of Law Index is based on assessments across eight key categories:
1. Constraints on Government Powers
2. Absence of Corruption
3. Open Government
4. Fundamental Rights
5. Order and Security
6. Regulatory Enforcement
7. Civil Justice
8. Criminal Justice

These categories collectively evaluate how effectively countries protect human rights, prevent abuses of power, and promote transparency.

Malta's Performance in Detail

1. Constraints on Government Powers
Malta's score in constraints on government powers, which dropped by -0.01, reflects growing concerns over checks and balances within its government. Constraints on government powers assess whether officials are accountable under the law and the effectiveness of oversight institutions like the judiciary and anti-corruption bodies. In Malta, several cases of high-profile investigations have spotlighted challenges in holding public officials accountable, which has likely impacted perceptions and Malta’s ranking in this category.

2. Absence of Corruption
Corruption remains a key issue for Malta, with its score in the absence of corruption category dropping by -0.03. The absence of corruption indicator measures the levels of corruption in government, including in legislative, executive, judicial, and police sectors. While Malta maintains various anti-corruption frameworks, their implementation and perceived effectiveness remain an area of public concern, contributing to the decline in this score.

3. Open Government
Malta’s open government score, which remained steady, measures transparency, civic participation, and public access to government information. Although Malta has made strides with digital governance and public access to information, critics argue that there is still limited engagement in decision-making processes. This has implications for public trust and accountability, placing Malta behind more transparent regional peers.

4. Fundamental Rights
A 63% majority of countries surveyed, including Malta, experienced a decline in fundamental rights. This category evaluates protections for rights such as freedom of expression, association, privacy, and due process. Malta’s position in this category remains stable, though concerns over media freedom and reports of restricted civil liberties have impacted public perception.

5. Order and Security
Malta ranks relatively high in order and security, placing 7th out of 31 regionally, with an emphasis on low crime rates and general societal stability. This category assesses factors like political violence, crime, and violence, all of which remain relatively low in Malta compared to other regions.

6. Regulatory Enforcement
Malta saw a slight decrease of -0.01 in regulatory enforcement, a category that considers how fairly and efficiently regulations are applied without bias. Concerns have arisen over regulatory enforcement in financial oversight and environmental protection, areas that are crucial to public welfare and international compliance but face challenges in terms of perceived fairness and consistency.

7. Civil Justice
Civil justice is Malta’s lowest-performing area, with the country ranking 48th out of 142 globally. This indicator assesses accessibility, affordability, and effectiveness in civil dispute resolutions, with a focus on equal treatment before the law. Challenges such as case backlog and resource limitations in Malta’s judiciary hinder its performance here, underscoring the need for increased judicial capacity and efficiency.

8. Criminal Justice Malta’s criminal justice score also declined slightly, by -0.01. This indicator evaluates the effectiveness and impartiality of the criminal justice system, including police and judiciary functions. Issues surrounding judicial independence and the length of legal proceedings have been cited as factors impacting perceptions of fairness in Malta’s criminal justice system.

Regional and Global Trends

Regionally, Malta's score aligns with broader trends in Europe and North America, where 20 of the 31 countries saw declines in rule of law, and 13 have experienced a continuous two-year decrease. Malta’s modest score decrease from 0.68 to 0.67 reflects a dip that is part of a larger regional decline but is not statistically significant. However, it signals the need for strengthened governance reforms, especially in transparency and anti-corruption measures.

Globally, rule of law backsliding has been observed across most regions, affecting nearly all eight measured categories in different ways. The WJP emphasizes that declines in indicators like fundamental rights and government accountability present substantial challenges for global justice and governance efforts, calling for international attention and reform to reverse the current trend.

Conclusion

Malta’s performance on the WJP Rule of Law Index highlights both areas of relative strength, such as order and security, and notable challenges, particularly in civil justice and government accountability. While Malta’s global rank of 30th reflects a fair standing, its lower regional rank and the downward trend in key categories emphasize the importance of reinforcing democratic safeguards, improving transparency, and addressing institutional constraints on government powers. Malta’s future improvement in these rankings will likely depend on continued reform efforts to bolster anti-corruption mechanisms, judicial efficiency, and regulatory fairness.