Our mission is to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the rule of law for the development of communities of opportunity and equity.

The World Justice Project is based on two complementary premises:

• First, the rule of law is the foundation for communities of opportunity and equity; and
• Second, multidisciplinary collaboration is the most effective way to advance the rule of law.

Working Definition of the Rule of Law

The WJP uses a working definition of the rule of law based on four universal principles:

1. The government and its officials and agents are accountable under the law.
2. The laws are clear, publicized, stable and fair, and protect fundamental rights, including the security of persons and property.
3. The process by which the laws are enacted, administered and enforced is accessible, fair and efficient.
4. Access to justice is provided by competent, independent, and ethical adjudicators, attorneys or representatives and judicial officers who are of sufficient number, have adequate resources, and reflect the makeup of the communities they serve.

What We Do

A worldwide rule of law deficit undermines efforts to make societies safe, lift people from poverty and build economic prosperity, reduce corruption, improve public health and enhance education. The WJP is tapping into a broad recognition that the rule of law is essential to thriving communities and to the success of virtually all fields of endeavor.

The WJP is unique in its engagement of stakeholders from a variety of disciplines, and is building an active network of governmental and non-governmental leaders from 17 disciplinary fields, representing all socio-economic levels of society.

Our work consists of three complementary and mutually reinforcing program areas: Mainstreaming, Rule of Law Index and Scholarship

• MAINSTREAMING: The WJP is integrating rule of law advancement into the work of a wide range of disciplines. The WJP engages in mainstreaming both by convening action-oriented multidisciplinary meetings (in the US and internationally) on the rule of law, and by providing funding through its Opportunity Fund to non-governmental organizations and other entities for multidisciplinary efforts to strengthen the rule of law. Both of these program areas produce multidisciplinary actions to strengthen the rule of law in communities and regions around the world. The WJP's Mainstreaming efforts include action-oriented multidisciplinary meetings and our Opportunity Fund. Action-Oriented, Multidisciplinary Meetings. 

  • The World Justice Forum
  • International mainstreaming
  • Mainstreaming in the United States
  • The Opportunity Fund: The WJP's seed grant program for multidisciplinary initiatives to strengthen the rule of law worldwide.

  

• RULE OF LAW INDEX:The WJP's Rule of Law Index is a new tool developed and administered by the WJP to measure a country's adherence to the rule of law and to identify areas where a country's rule of law is weak. This is the first index to cover the rule of law comprehensively. The Index is designed to provide governments, businesses, NGO's, and civil society, with a tool to plan targeted, effective reforms, and will show incremental change over time.

• SCHOLARSHIP: The WJP supports rigorous scholarship, examining the contributions of the rule of law to various aspects of economic, political and social development and shedding new light on how to strengthen the rule of law. The WJP is sponsoring new research and is disseminating such research for wide public discussion.

  For examples of how the rule of law impacts individual disciplines, click here.