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World Justice Project: 2025 Rule of Law Index – Türkiye

  • Writer: NCCA
    NCCA
  • Oct 28
  • 2 min read

Updated: Nov 6

World Justice Project (WJP), October 2025

Infographic from the World Justice Project’s 2025 Rule of Law Index showing Türkiye ranked 118th out of 143 countries globally, 14th of 15 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and 37th of 41 among upper-middle-income nations. Türkiye’s overall score is 0.41, with the lowest scores in “Constraints on Government Powers” (136th) and “Fundamental Rights” (134th), and relatively higher scores in “Order and Security” (79th). The visual includes bar graphs and a radar chart comparing Türkiye’s 2024 and 2025 scores across eight factors: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice.

Overview

The World Justice Project (WJP) has released its 2025 Rule of Law Index, ranking Türkiye 118th out of 143 countries, one place lower than in 2024. The findings highlight a continued erosion of judicial independence, accountability, and fundamental rights in the country, placing Türkiye near the bottom both globally and regionally—14th of 15 in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, and 37th of 41 among upper-middle-income countries.


The WJP Index evaluates nations across eight categories:

  1. Constraints on Government Powers

  2. Absence of Corruption

  3. Open Government

  4. Fundamental Rights

  5. Order and Security

  6. Regulatory Enforcement

  7. Civil Justice

  8. Criminal Justice



Key Findings

  • Overall Rank: 118th of 143 countries (↓1 from 2024)

  • Regional Rank: 14th of 15 (Eastern Europe & Central Asia)

  • Income Category Rank: 37th of 41 (Upper-Middle Income)

  • Constraints on Government Powers: 136th (↓41 since 2015)

  • Fundamental Rights: 134th (↓38 since 2015)

  • Türkiye’s ranking has fallen 38 places since 2015, when it stood at 80th.

  • The steepest decline occurred after the 2016 coup attempt, when Türkiye dropped 19 places to 99th.

  • Judicial independence continues to weaken following mass purges of over 4,000 judges and prosecutors after 2016.

  • The transition to a presidential system in 2018 further reduced political and judicial checks on executive power.



Context and Concerns

The WJP attributes Türkiye’s decade-long decline in rule-of-law standards to the consolidation of power under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.


Key concerns include:

  • Judiciary politicization: replacement of experienced judges with AKP-aligned appointees.

  • Weaponization of courts: frequent use of legal tools to target journalists, mayors, and opposition figures.

  • Suppression of dissent: prosecutions for “insulting the president” and “disinformation.”

  • Crackdown on opposition mayors: arrests and trustee appointments following the 2024 local elections.

  • Restrictions on media and artistic freedom: bans, fines, and censorship of critical outlets and individuals.


The WJP findings reflect a systemic collapse of institutional checks and balances, identifying Türkiye as one of the world’s sharpest long-term rule-of-law decliners.




Tags

Rule of Law · WJP · Turkey · Hizmet Movement · Judicial Independence · Human Rights · Accountability · Governance

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