Georgia ranks first among 14 nations in the region in the 2022 World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index, according to Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.

“Facts have already defeated perceptions multiple times in a row. This makes us wonder about the scope of the negative and disinformation effort against Georgia,” the Speaker posted on Facebook.

The Parliament Speaker went on to note that before the European Commission’s decision, when the topic of whether Georgia merited EU candidate status was posed in the Georgian parliament hall, just a few opposition MPs raised their hands to demonstrate their support.

Denmark is the top-ranked country in the WJP Rule of Law Index 2022, followed by Norway, Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands. According to the World Justice Project’s study of in-depth survey data from 140 countries and jurisdictions, adherence to the rule of law in 61% of countries this year dropped.

“Authoritarian trends that predate the pandemic continue to erode the rule of law,” said Elizabeth Andersen, executive director of the World Justice Project (WJP). “Checks on executive power are weakening, and respect for human rights is falling.”

Hard facts. Georgia is a front-runner. @TheWJP #GEOinEU pic.twitter.com/9h7h5GecRw

— Shalva Papuashvili 🇬🇪 (@shpapuashvili) October 28, 2022