Slovakia Falls to 36th Place in Global Rule of Law Index

Washington/Bratislava, 29 October (TASR) – Slovakia's score in the latest Rule of Law Index published by the international organisation World Justice Project (WJP) fell by 2.3 percent year-on-year, placing the country 36th out of 143 countries, TASR has learned from WJP press release. According to the WJP, the global decline in the rule of law accelerated in 2025, with 68 percent of countries experiencing a drop compared with 57 percent last year. The main reasons cited include growing authoritarian tendencies, a weakening of limits on government powers, reduced judicial independence, and a shrinking civil society, including freedom of expression and assembly. More than 60 percent of countries recorded a weakening of checks and balances, including legislative, judicial, and independent auditing mechanisms. Denmark remains at the top of the global ranking, while Venezuela ranks last. Within the region of the European Union, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and North America, Slovakia placed 26th out of 31 countries. The lowest-ranked were Greece, Bulgaria, and Hungary. Slovakia received an overall score of 0.64 out of 1. Within the 27-member EU, it showed the steepest decline – by 0.023 points (2.3 percent). Hungary scored the lowest at 0.50. Among neighbouring countries, Ukraine scored 0.48 (90th globally), Poland 0.66 (32nd), the Czech Republic 0.74 (20th), and Austria 0.79 (12th). Over the past year, 22 of the 31 countries in the region experienced a decline in rule of law, with 16 continuing the downward trend from the previous year. Russia recorded the steepest fall since the start of the global rule of law recession. Slovakia is categorised as a high-income country, ranking 36th out of 51 in this group. The WJP criticised Slovakia for deterioration in constraints on government power, openness of public administration, and fundamental human rights. The system of checks and balances and civil society were also seriously weakened. Declines were noted in freedom of opinion, expression, assembly, association, and civic participation in public life. According to the WJP, Slovakia's judiciary is losing independence due to executive overreach and growing political interference. Out of 143 countries, Slovakia ranked 37th in constraints on government power, 59th in absence of corruption, 27th in open government, 33rd in fundamental rights, 18th in order and security, 40th in regulatory enforcement, 64th in civil justice, and 34th in criminal justice. mf