March 10 (SeeNews) - Slovenia was the highest ranked southeast European country in the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2014, the non-governmental organisation said.
"Slovenia places in the top-third worldwide in most dimensions of the rule of law," the World Justice Project said upon the release of the 2014 Rule of Law Index report. The country has a good system of checks and balances and obtains relatively high marks in protecting basic civil liberties."
On the opposite end, Moldova outperforms most of its regional and income-level peers in delivering order and security and in providing access to official information but it still faces challenges in most of the other areas covered by the index.
Romania performs relatively well in security, respect for fundamental rights and criminal justice but does less well in administrative and judicial efficiency, according to the non-governmental organisation.
Macedonia's judicial system is not as efficient as others in the region and is affected by corruption and political interference, it noted. The country's performance remains almost unchanged since last year.
Croatia's institutions lag behind those of other high-income countries. It is relatively safe from crime but there is an increasing use of violence to express discontent, according to the World Justice Report.
Bosnia and Herzegovina's weakest performance is in the dimension of civil justice due to delays and ineffective enforcement mechanisms.
Bulgaria scores lower than its counterparts in protecting the security of its citizens from crime and in respecting the freedoms of speech, religion, and assembly but it outperforms most upper-middle income countries. It faces challenges in the dimensions of government accountability, corruption, and regulatory enforcement, according to the organisation.
Serbia shows a stable performance since 2013 but it varies considerably across the dimensions.
Turkey performs well in regulatory enforcement and absence of corruption but receives lower marks in government accountability and fundamental rights mainly because of political interference within the legislature and the judiciary, and restrictions on freedom of expression and privacy.
According to the report, the performance of Albania's administrative agencies and civil courts is similar to that of other countries in the region but significant room for improvement remains, particularly with regards to corruption.
Here's how the SEE countries ranked in the 2014 Rule of Law Index report.
Overall global rank |
Country |
Constraints on govt powers |
Absence of corruption |
Open govt |
Fundamental rights |
Order and Security |
Regulatory enforcement |
Civil Justice |
Criminal Justice |
28 |
Slovenia |
30 |
32 |
23 |
13 |
37 |
28 |
29 |
27 |
33 |
Romania |
43 |
41 |
47 |
25 |
31 |
45 |
34 |
29 |
34 |
Macedonia |
61 |
37 |
24 |
38 |
47 |
44 |
41 |
37 |
36 |
Croatia |
40 |
36 |
38 |
37 |
39 |
53 |
46 |
31 |
39 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
51 |
55 |
44 |
32 |
45 |
49 |
56 |
42 |
44 |
Bulgaria |
58 |
64 |
51 |
36 |
36 |
57 |
45 |
56 |
54 |
Serbia |
65 |
67 |
48 |
40 |
51 |
65 |
71 |
58 |
59 |
Turkey |
72 |
35 |
69 |
78 |
67 |
38 |
47 |
62 |
63 |
Albania |
68 |
83 |
60 |
49 |
53 |
64 |
53 |
75 |
75 |
Moldova |
79 |
88 |
58 |
68 |
40 |
79 |
76 |
82 |