Is Georgia ahead of seven EU countries and eleven NATO countries in terms of rule of law?

On April 16, various Georgian media outlets (1, 2, 3) published a statement by a member of the ruling party, MP Irakli Zarkua, that according to Western studies, Georgia is ahead of seven EU member states and 11 NATO member states by the rule of law indicator.

The assertion of Irakli Zarkua that Georgia is ahead of seven EU countries and 11 NATO countries in terms of rule of law is partly false. According to the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index for 2023, Georgia is ahead of only two EU countries and six NATO countries, while according to the V-Dem Institute’s data for 2022, it is ahead of only one EU country and four NATO member states.

Irakli Zarkua did not name the study on which his statement was based. With the mentioned statement, he was addressing the US Department of State spokesperson, Matthew Miller, and in it, he mentioned “your research,” presumably implying US and EU research centers.

Myth Detector examined the most reliable rule of law indices: one produced by the World Justice Project (WJP), on which the World Bank relies, and another produced by the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem).

The international organization World Justice Project (WJP) publishes an annual Rule of Law Index. The index measures how the rule of law is experienced and perceived in practical, everyday situations by the general public worldwide. The Index, which is compiled based on 44 indicators, is divided into eight categories: limited government powers; absence of corruption; open government; fundamental rights; order and security; regulatory enforcement; civil justice; and criminal justice.

It is worth noting that according to WSJ data for 2023, Georgia is ranked 48^th in the world but first in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region (Montenegro, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Albania, Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Russia, and Turkey). However, it is ahead of only two EU countries, Bulgaria and Hungary, ranked 59^th and 73^rd, respectively. According to the mentioned research, Georgia received 0.6 of the maximum score of 1 on the evaluation criteria and moved up 1 place compared to the previous year.

With regard to NATO member states, Georgia was ahead of six of them in 2023. These countries, in addition to the already-mentioned Bulgaria and Hungary, included Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, and Turkey. Turkey has the lowest score among these countries and ranks 117^th.

The C-Dem research provides data for 2022, according to which Georgia received 0.76 of the maximum score of 1 on the rule of law index and was ahead of only Hungary from EU member states and Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Turkey from NATO member states.

Source: V-DemTable 1. Rankings of NATO member states by rule of law indices.

Members of Georgia’s ruling party, government administration, pro-government media, and experts have in the past repeatedly reported on international studies in a manipulative manner and out of context. Read more in the following Myth Detector’s materials:

• DOES THE WORLD BANK MAKE RANKINGS DURING ENTERPRISE SURVEYS AND HOW DID THE GEORGIAN GOVERNMENT CALCULATE THE BRIBERY INCIDENCE RATE?
• V-DEM INDEX ON CIVIL SOCIETY DISSEMINATED WITHOUT CONTEXT
• CLAIM THAT GEORGIA IS AHEAD OF THE UNITED STATES IN TERMS OF JUDICIAL IMPARTIALITY IS DISINFORMATION
• HOW RELIABLE ARE THE DATA USED BY GEORGIAN MEDIA WHEN REPORTING SAFETY STATISTICS?

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