Dominican Republic gets low grades on Rule of Law

Washington, DC (20 October 2016) – The World Justice Project(WJP) today released the WJP Rule of Law Index® 2016, the annual reportmeasuring how the rule of law is experienced by the general public worldwide.According to the Index, Dominican Republic’s overall rule of law performanceplaces it at 23 out of 30 countries in the Latin American and Caribbeanregion*, 30 out of 37 among upper-middle income countries, and 85 out of 113countries and jurisdictions worldwide.

Dominican Republic’s decline from itsprevious position in the 2015 WJP Rule of Law Index was primarily driven by adownturn in performance in the area of Constraints on Government Powers.Detailed information about the factors used in the WJP Rule of Law Index can befound at http://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index (note that rankingchanges were calculated by comparing countries against the original 2015 WJPRule of Law Index country set, excluding the 11 new countries added to theIndex this year).

The WJP Rule of Law Index is the world’sleading source for original data on the rule of law. The 2016 edition expandscoverage to 113 countries and jurisdictions (from 102 in 2015), relying on morethan 100,000 household and expert surveys to measure how the rule of law isexperienced in practical, everyday situations by the general public worldwide.Performance is measured using 44 indicators across eight primary rule of lawfactors, each of which is scored and ranked globally and against regional and incomepeers: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, OpenGovernment, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement,Civil Justice, and Criminal Justice.

The top three overall performers in the WJPRule of Law Index 2016 were Denmark (1), Norway (2), and Finland (3); thebottom three were Afghanistan (111), Cambodia (112), and Venezuela (113). Inthe Latin American and Caribbean region, the top performer was Uruguay; the bottomperformer was Venezuela.

The complete 2016 report—including onlinedata visualizations and download options— is available on October 20 at:www.worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index

“Effective rule of law is the foundation forcommunities of peace, equity, and opportunity,” said William H. Neukom, WJPFounder and CEO. “No country has ever attained—let alone sustained—a perfectrealization of the rule of law. The WJP Rule of Law Index is intended to be afirst step in setting benchmarks, informing and guiding reforms, and deepeningappreciation and understanding for the foundational importance of the rule oflaw.”

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC RANKINGS

WJP Rule of Law Index 2016 performance(1 is best)

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC RANKINGS
WJP Rule of Law Index 2016 performance(1 is best)

Countriesmeasured in the Latin American and Caribbean region: Antigua and Barbuda,Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, CostaRica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala,Guyana,

Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico,Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and theGrenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela

**Upper-middle income countries: Albania,Argentina, Belarus, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria,China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Georgia,Grenada, Guyana, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Macedonia, FYR,Malaysia, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Romania, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, St.Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Thailand, Turkey, Venezuela