Once again, Cambodia has placed second to the bottom in an index of 142 countries ranked according to rule of law.
The World Justice Project (WJP), an international research and civil society organization, ranked Cambodia one spot above Venezuela, a country in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, and below its war-torn regional neighbor Myanmar, in its annual Rule of Law Index released in October.
In the East Asia and Pacific region, Cambodia placed last out of 15 countries included in the report, and bottommost in a group of 38 lower-middle income nations – two positions the country has maintained almost every year since the index was established in 2015.
The WJP’s index looks at several factors to measure the vitality of rule of law, including constraint on government powers, corruption, open government, fundamental rights and civil justice. Relying on codified surveys of the general public in each country – in addition to questionnaires given to local and international experts – the index is seen as a tool for private and public stakeholders to advance reform, global development, and business investment.
For Cambodia, particularly low scores in areas such as absence of corruption, open government and an overall limitation in checks and balances have contributed to a steady decline in juridical order, researchers say.
Among other benefits for societal wellbeing, WJP noted the economic incentives associated with sound rule of law reform, emphasizing hope for engagement with the Cambodian government—despite some officials’ dismissals of the report—and the incremental improvements since the last review.
“Overall, we have seen a steady decline in Cambodia’s rule of law over the last ten years,” said Srirak Plipat, the Asia-Pacific regional director for WJP.
“This is due to a number of factors, including weak checks and balances, where government powers are less likely to be scrutinized or held accountable, whether through parliament, independent audits, or non-governmental oversight,” he explained, adding that executive and legislative interference in the judiciary is another concern for the balance of powers in Cambodia.
Long criticized by international groups for targeting ruling party opponents through judicial overreach, Cambodian courts jailed at least 24 activists, opposition leaders, and union members in the first half of 2024, according to local human rights group LICADHO.
Yet, Plipat said the WJP report identified some improvements in Cambodia’s administration of justice, although the criminal justice system remains less impartial than regional and global averages.
“When you compare to the last eight years, Cambodia has made progress in terms of publicizing law and government data,” Plipat noted, referring to the index grade.
Cambodia scored a 0.21 on the subfactor for publicized laws and government data, a 5 percent increase from its 2023 score but still well below the global average. The country also saw an improvement in its civil justice ranking, while its score in the order and security category — its highest-ranking factor — remained close to the global average, with a gap of nearly 9%.
Not only considering benefits to the public good, Plipat mentioned the strong correlation between sound rule of law and a growing economy with global engagement.
“Most companies want to see a transparent, fair and effective justice system,” he said.
“This year Vietnam has been in the top five improvers of the rule of law and it signals the strong research that the country is opening up – even though not in all aspects,” Plipat added, referencing Vietnam’s shoring of foreign direct investment and diversification of its growing economy as a regional example.
While neighbors like Vietnam and Thailand, both scoring above the global rule of law average, have attracted significantly more foreign investment from leading high-tech companies, Cambodia has lagged behind.
Whereas the rule of law index is meant to be constructive, some Cambodian authorities have denounced the report as not properly distinguishing between lawful political freedoms and legal violations.
“This WJP report always makes rough conclusions,” wrote Dyna Seng, secretary of state at the Justice Ministry, in a Facebook post shortly after the report’s release. “The report’s reference to ‘political matters’ fails to distinguish between lawful political freedoms and violations of the law […].”
“No person can hide under the banner of human rights, a civil society organization, or a political party to escape legal responsibility for their actions,” he added.
Dyna doubled down in another post, highlighting that countries experiencing political turmoil and conflict, such as Haiti, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, have higher rankings to assert that the report lacks credibility.
“This WJP report was compiled without collaboration from the Royal Government of Cambodia and relies on one-sided information,” Dyna told CamboJA News, adding that the government is actively pursuing judicial reforms – efforts he said were not reflected in the report, with two campaigns underway.
Government spokesperson Pen Bona dismissed Cambodia’s score as “unfounded” and said that the government pays “no attention” to such reports.
Plipat, speaking about general criticisms of WJP methodologies or narrative framing by Western researchers rather than in response to Dyna, reiterated that the organization relies on local polling networks to profile a country, reflecting the voice of the people.
“We want to make it clear that our mission is to improve rule of law worldwide regardless of the political or economic system,” he said.
Despite the challenging rapport, collaboration between the research firm and Cambodian lawmakers may be less tenuous than expected.
“I have had fruitful exchanges with Cambodian authorities,” mentioned Plipat, referencing his time at ASEAN conferences.
“It all starts with conversation. Every government, every country around the world knows that they are part of a global community and that cannot be denied. Sooner or later you’re going to have to discuss some of these issues that are seen as sensitive.”
(Additional reporting by Seoung Nimol)
