Rule of Law Index Shows U.S. Among World's Worst in Access to Civil Legal Help

10/25/2023

by Tom Gordon

Today, the World Justice Project released its annual Rule of Law Index, ranking the commitment of 140 countries to the rule of law. Although the United States ranked 26th overall, it continued to perform among the worst in the world in access to its civil legal system.

In the category, “People Can Access and Afford Civil Justice," the U.S. ranked 115th out of 142 countries. It scored—by far—the worst among high-income countries  In fact, its ranking was near the median of countries in the low-income tier, consisting of the 18 poorest countries surveyed. According to the Index, access and affordability of legal help in the U.S. is around the same as it is in Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.