The 2020 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index has recently been released. The Rule of Law Index and other related analytical reports can be accessed at www.worldjusticeproject.org. Based on the most recent data, which have not changed much since the 2016 annual report, one can conclude that the rule of law in Canada is “thick”, but perhaps not uniformly so. The literature on the rule of law distinguishes between a “thin” or minimalist conception of the rule of law focusing on formal procedural rules and a “thick” conception that focuses on substantive aspects such as the absence of corruption and the exercise of fundamental rights in practice. The thickness of the rule of law matters because access to justice is profoundly important for all aspects of our every day lives. Everyone and every sector of the society are stakeholders in the rule of law. Open and accountable government, accessible and impartial dispute resolution and just laws are aspects of the rule of law about which we are not always aware in our daily lives, but we would be acutely aware of their absence if we did not have them.
Canada ranks 9th among the 128 nations included in the 2020 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, unchanged from the 3 previous years. With an overall score of 0.81, Canada follows Denmark, ranked number 1 having score of 0.90, Norway, 0.89, Finland, 0.87, Sweden, 0.86, Netherlands, 0.84, Germany, 0.84, New Zealand, 0.83 and Australia 0.82. The UK ranks 13th with an overall score of 0.79 and the US ranks 21st with a score of 0.72.
True to the expression “peace, order and good government” used in S 91 of the Constitution Act, Canada ranks highest on the order and security component of the index with a score of 0.91. Canada’s scores on most other components of the rule of law index are also high; on constraints on government powers, 0.84, absence of corruption, 0.83, fundamental rights, 0.82, open government, 0.81 and regulatory enforcement, also at 0.81. The country’s score on the criminal justice component is lower at 0.74. However, Canada’s rank in relation to other countries on the criminal justice component is 10th.
Canada has improved its overall ranking on the Rule of Law index since 2011, fluctuating between 11th and 17th position globally. The factor that has kept Canada hovering in the admirable place of 9th among nations for the past 4 years is our score of 0.70 on the civil justice component, ranking 19th in the world in 2020. Within the civil justice component, the lowest individual element is unreasonable delays with a score of 0.47, absence of discrimination at 0.57 and accessibility and affordability at 0.58. The rule of law in Canada is not uniformly “thick”. It is slightly curvilinear with a thin spot on civil justice.