Bosnia and Herzegovina is 75th in the world according to the Rule of Law Index: The worst result ever, without any achieved progress

In 2023, according to the Rule of Law Index of the World Justice Project (WJP), out of 142 countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina fell to 75th place, which is the worst result since 2015, when this research was conducted worldwide, without any noticeable progress in any area that affects the assessment of the degree of the rule of law in the country.

Bosnia and Herzegovina received an approximate rating of 0.51, on a scale from 0 to 1, and since 2015, when it was rated with 0.57, it has been continuously declining, with the fact that it fell from 72nd position in 2022 to 75th this year and is significantly below Slovenia (27th place), Croatia (45th), Kosovo* (58th), Montenegro (57th) and North Macedonia (67th), while only Serbia (93rd place) ) and Albania (91st place) are ranked worse than Bosnia and Herzegovina on this year’s Rule of Law Index.

The WJP’s Rule of Law Index is measured through eight indicators: limitations of government powers, absence of corruption, openness of government, availability of basic rights, order and security, law enforcement, civil legal system and criminal legal system.

Compared to last year, Bosnia and Herzegovina failed to make progress in any of the monitored areas, and recorded the most significant decline in the indicator that measures the availability of basic rights, where BiH achieved a score of 0.58 (where 1 is the highest score) and is in the 64th position, while last year it was ranked 57th out of 142 countries in the world, with an index score of 0.60. For this result, the most significant is the rating of the protection and guarantee of freedom of expression and opinion, according to which BiH is in the 108th position in the world with a rating of 0.44, which, without any doubt, was contributed by the efforts of the authorities at all levels to stifle any form of criticism, either through the changes of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Srpska, which criminalized defamation, or the new law on “agents of foreign influence” that targets organizations that are not under the control of the authorities in this entity, but also the attempts of authorities in Sarajevo Canton to limit freedom of speech and introduce censorship under the pretext of fighting the so-called “fake news”.

Presence of corruption (0.42) is the area that is still ranked the lowest in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where by far the worst rated parameters are those that measure the degree to which officials abuse their position to achieve personal interests, and this is where BiH ranks 109th when it comes to executive power officials with an index of 0.36, i.e. in 100th place in the world in terms of the propensity of officials to abuse their position in legislative bodies, where it was rated with 0.23 index points. Compared to last year, Bosnia and Herzegovina also fell behind in the area of justice (-3) and the establishment of effective mechanisms for limiting government power (-3).

The WJP report states that almost 76% of the world’s population, or more than six billion people, live in countries where the rule of law has weakened in the last year, while from 2016 to 2023, the rule of law weakened in 78% of countries, with increasingly prevalent decline in ratings in the areas of limitations on government powers, fundamental rights, and the criminal justice system.

The research, in which, in addition to citizens, lawyers and experts from various fields participated, once again confirmed the findings of similar relevant international research, such as the Index of Corruption Perceptions, reports by Freedom House and the World Bank, and BiH not only did not make any progress but a very pronounced drop in the results of the fight against corruption is recorded.

In addition to research by international organizations, TI BiH reports support the fact that the degree of transparency of public institutions is insufficient, that corruption, especially at high level, is not prosecuted, and that holders of the highest judicial positions bear almost no significant consequences for failures in their work.

The decline in the assessment of the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index is the last in a series of relevant findings indicating the worsening situation in which BiH is, and that it is necessary to direct significant efforts towards the implementation of essential reforms necessary to solve the entrapment of the institutional apparatus, establishment of minimum responsibility and rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina.