By Francis H. Murray
The judiciary of Sierra Leone has made significant gains in the 2020 World Justice Rule of Law Index Report and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Scorecard, the two separate reports show.
The World Justice Project (WJP) rule of law index is the latest report in an annual series which assesses the rule of law in countries based on the experiences and perceptions of the general public and in-country legal practitioners and experts worldwide.
According to a press release issued by the judiciary last week, Sierra Leone was placed ahead of Nigeria, Uganda, Niger, Turkey, Pakistan, Mexico and a number of other countries in and outside Africa.
The report presents a description of the rule of law in 128 countries and jurisdictions by providing scores and rankings based on a range of factors including constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice.
Chief Justice of Sierra Leone, Desmond Babatunde Edwards, referred to the findings in the report as ‘‘impressive’’ for the justice sector, which he said had helped the country pass thirteen (13) Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) indicators, out of twenty (20).
“This is a welcome news for us as a nation in making gains in our justice system and to also perform impressively in the Millennium Challenge Corporation scorecard,” Justice Edwards noted.
He added: “Sierra Leone scored 28 in the area of political rights, scored 37 in civil rights and 63 percentage in the Rule of Law which falls under our purview. These impressive successes have made the country to be compact eligible. ’’
The Chief Justice went on to note that the WJP Rule of Law Index measures adherence to the rule of law by looking at policy outcomes such as whether people have access to courts or whether crime is effectively controlled and whether the platform is enabling for political rights and civil liberty. He thanked President Julius Maada Bio and the government for their commitment to having a transformed judiciary that will administer justice without fear or favour, as well as ensure sustainable reforms that are critical to advancing the rule of law and guaranteeing human rights.
The WJP rule of law index is the world’s leading source for original and independent data on the rule of law.
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