Hungary ranked last among European Union countries in terms of the rule of law according to the World Justice Project (WJP) report. The top positions were recorded in Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden.
According to the study materials, the global rule of law crisis has reached a new peak: in 2025, 68% of countries experienced deterioration compared to 57% in the previous year.
“The index shows that the judiciary is losing ground due to excessive influence of the executive branch, with growing political interference in justice systems. The indicators measuring whether the judiciary constrains the executive branch and whether civil and criminal justice are free from undue government influence have declined in 61%, 67%, and 62% of countries respectively”
– World Justice Project
The position of Hungary and the state of the judiciary
According to experts, Hungary, led by Viktor Orbán, scored 0.50 out of 1.0, 0.02 points lower than the previous year. This is the lowest score for the rule of law among the 27 EU countries.
Among the countries with a noticeable drop in the rating was Slovakia, whose score fell to 0.64, i.e., by 0.023 points compared to 2024.
The report also notes that two-thirds of EU member states received lower scores for the rule of law compared with the previous year due to “decreased government openness, deteriorating functioning of the justice system and weaker enforcement of regulatory acts.”
European leaders and overall trends
The leader in Europe for the rule of law with a score of 0.9 was Denmark. Norway, Finland, and Sweden follow.
At the same time, experts note that in three out of four EU countries there is a deterioration in the quality of civil and criminal justice: civil courts are becoming less protected from discrimination, and the criminal justice system is less impartial. Also in most countries of the region, the judiciary is increasingly subjected to government influence.
Furthermore, according to experts’ estimates, the decline in justice affected the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, and Ukraine – 0.78 (change +0.01), 0.68 (minus 0.028), 0.41 (minus 0.049) and 0.48 (minus 0.007) respectively. Russia recorded the sharpest decline among the countries participating in the study between 2024 and 2025.
“There are signs of criminal offenses defined in Article 345 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine ‘Threats or violence against a law enforcement officer’ and Article 194 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine ‘Intentional destruction or damage to property’. The relevant notices have been sent to the National Police”
– World Justice Project
Overall, the World Justice Project report emphasizes the growing gap between leaders and countries with serious rule-of-law problems, pointing to the need for systemic changes in governance and the judiciary in the European context.