Turkey ranks alongside African nations in Rule of Law Index

In the 2024 World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index, Turkey ranks 117th out of 142 countries, placing it at a low position globally. Denmark holds the top spot in the index, highlighting the significant gap between Turkey and the highest-scoring nations. Turkey's position at the bottom of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region indicates that it is also lagging significantly behind regional performance.

Behind Turkey's low ranking lie issues in various factors affecting the rule of law. For example, poor performance in sub-factors such as "Fundamental Rights" (133rd place), "Absence of Corruption" (78th place), and "Constraints on Government Powers" (135th place) reflects the lack of judicial independence in the country and the problems experienced in protecting fundamental rights. Fundamental rights, one of the areas where Turkey receives its lowest scores, are associated with restrictions on issues such as freedom of thought and the right to assembly. Furthermore, although the corruption indicator in Turkey has shown some improvements recently, these developments have not been sufficient to improve the overall situation.

Viewed in a global context, Turkey's performance can be evaluated as part of a trend observed worldwide since 2016, referred to as the "rule of law recession." The rise of authoritarian tendencies and the weakening of judicial systems in many countries in the post-2016 period stand out as a global problem that also affects Turkey. During this period of decline, negative developments occurred in areas such as fundamental rights and the limitation of state powers in Turkey, just as they did globally. However, while this global downward trend shows signs of slowing, the same is not true for Turkey.

Turkey ranks 117th in the 2024 World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index, falling well behind European countries and settling into a position close to many African nations in the global rankings.

(2024 Rule of Law Index table)

This ranking has led to Turkey being evaluated in the same category as countries that perform lower due to problems in human rights and fundamental freedoms, despite the fact that Turkey should be aiming for European standards in areas such as the rule of law and judicial independence.

For Turkey to show improvement in the area of the rule of law, it is important to implement reforms that will increase judicial independence, strengthen policies aimed at protecting fundamental rights and freedoms, and increase transparency in public institutions. Such reforms could contribute to improving the low performance in the rule of law index.

This situation causes Turkey to drift away from its goal of approaching European countries in the field of law, leading it to experience similar problems to some countries in Africa and Asia.

Prof. Dr. Duran Bülbül