The rule of law is deteriorating all over the world. Hungary the last one in the EU —but Italy is not doing well either

Brussels – The State of Law does not fare well globally. The latest World Justice Project (WJP) report, published today (28 October), confirms the eighth consecutive year of decline worldwide, including in civilised Europe. From 2024 to 2025, worsening has been observed in as many as 18 of the 27 EU Member States, including Italy. 

In a statement accompanying the survey, the researchers point out that “the global decline in the rule of law has accelerated further“, to the extent that 68 per cent of the countries surveyed experienced a year-on-year decline (whereas, they point out, the deterioration between 2023 and 2024 had affected 57 per cent of the total). 

Among the main dynamics identified are the “expansion of authoritarian tendencies,” the “decline in the independence of the judiciary,” and the “restriction of civic space” (a phenomenon that affects crucial freedoms such as those of expression and assembly but also levels of public participation), in a combination that entails a “higher risk for democracy” worldwide. 

The WJP Rule of Law Index is measured by taking into account 44 indicators across 8 categories, with each indicator’s relative score weighted against the total number of jurisdictions analysed (143 countries and territories), divided into geographical regions and income classes. The numerical value of the index—both the overall one and the one referring to individual categories—ranges from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 1. 

The categories analysed include: limits to executive power, the fight against corruption, the so-called open government (a composite label referring to, among other things, the transparency of decision-making processes and accountability), the protection of fundamental rights, the level of order and security, the level of regulatory implementation, and the effectiveness of civil and penal justice. 

In this year’s edition, the first place in the world is occupied (as in previous time-series surveys over the past decade) by Denmark, which, with an overall score of 0.90, shows a slight decline. It is followed on the podium by Norway and Finland (0.89 and 0.87 respectively), while at the end of the ranking are Venezuela (0.26), Afghanistan and Cambodia (tied at 0.31), and Haiti (0.32). The most conspicuous deterioration occurred in Russia, which lost 0.028 points in the last 12 months, slipping to 0.41 (119th place). 

Among the Twenty-Seven, Sweden (0.85), Germany and Luxembourg (both at 0.83) are ranked behind the two countries already mentioned, while the last positions are occupied by Bulgaria (0.55), Greece (0.60), Croatia and Romania (both at 0.61). The black jersey, in terms of ranking, goes to Hungary, stuck at 0.50 and steadily worsening since 2015, while the worst decline (0.023 points less than last year) was recorded in Slovakia, down to 0.64.

 And Italy? The Bel Paese is in 34th place in the global ranking (and 21st at the EU level) with 0.66 points: the same value as in 2024—albeit showing a slight decline—but two positions back compared to last year, when we were 32nd out of 142. According to the WJP, the categories with the worst scores are efficiency of civil justice (0.56) and regulatory implementation (0.61), while those where Rome fares better are public order and safety (0.75) and the protection of fundamental rights (0.70). 

The index, writes the organisation, shows that even in Italy “the judiciary is
losing ground to executive overreach

​, with rising political interference in judicial systems“. Also weighing on the efficiency of civil justice, the WJP note continues, are “longer delays and less effective alternatives to the courts (such as mediation).”