Turkey falls behind the Tanzimat Era in the rule of law index: A report on 'justice' from 1789 to the present

12punto FOREIGN NEWS

According to a 'rule of law index' based on the government's rate of correctly applying laws, Turkey has fallen behind the Tanzimat and Selim III eras. It was reported that the index takes into account the independence of the courts, the government's compliance with laws, the transparency and impartiality of laws, the 'accessibility' of justice, the rate of corruption, and the impartiality of the bureaucracy. According to the index, Turkey remained behind the 0.20 score of the Tanzimat Era with a score of 0.18 in 2024.

The scientific research site Our World in Data, in its index based on V-Dem data, published a report on the rule of law in numerous countries, including Turkey. In the report, Turkey's rule of law score was recorded as 0.18. It was stated that the index covers the period from 1789 to the present day.

The score in question was stated as 0.14 between the years 2017 and 2023. Turkey's lowest score before 2017 was stated as 0.17 during the reign of Abdul Hamid II. Outside of the Abdul Hamid era, the 0.17 score was recorded only once in the Ottoman period, for the year 1839.

According to data that does not cover 2025, the rule of law in Turkey increased by 0.3 points in 2024 compared to the 2017-2023 period. On the other hand, Turkey's highest scores were stated as 0.74 in 1965 and 2002.

News Source: 12punto