Ghana’s rule of law and justice system, which ensures that laws are applied fairly and protects citizens’ rights against abuse of power, has seen the sharpest decline among 54 African countries over the past decade.
According to the 2024 Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance, Ghana experienced a significant drop of 14.9 points in its rule of law index between 2014 and 2023.
This marks the worst deterioration on the continent, raising serious concerns about the country’s governance and legal fairness.
The report highlights that this decline is particularly troubling as Ghana approaches its December 2024 elections, underscoring the urgent need for reforms to restore trust in the legal system and uphold democratic principles.
“However, all security and rule of law related sub-categories have declined since 2014, spearheaded by Rule of Law & Justice (-14.9) and Security & Safety (-8.5), both on trajectories of increasing deterioration… concerning results in security and rule of law, with a presidential election scheduled in December 2024,” the report indicated.
The rule of law and justice category of the report was measured using the following indicators:
“Executive compliance with the Rule of Law, impartiality of the judicial system, judicial processes, equality before the law, law enforcement, property rights, and public perception of the rule of law. All these indicators have witnessed a decline in the past decade”.
Here is how the country performed in each of these sub-categories:
This indicator assesses the extent to which the executive respects the constitution, the government complies with decisions by the courts, and transitions of power are subject to the law. This has witnessed a 1.6 index decline.
- Impartiality of the Judicial System
This indicator assesses the extent to which the judicial system is impartial based on the independence of the courts, the autonomy of judges, and the appointment of judges. This sub-category witnessed the highest index of 97 when the current government came into power. However, it has declined significantly afterward to 68.3. In a decade, the impartiality of the judicial system has witnessed a 30% decline.
- Judicial processes
This indicator assesses the extent to which justice is accessible and affordable, due process of law and rights of the accused are guaranteed, trials are timely, and justice is enforced effectively. The process has witnessed a 13-point decline in a decade.
- Equality before the law
This indicator assesses the extent to which there is equality before the law and civil and criminal justice systems are impartial and free of discrimination.
- Law enforcement
This indicator evaluates the reliability of the police, their accountability in cases of misconduct, and the effectiveness of criminal investigations and prosecutions.
The report noted a decline in law enforcement standards in Ghana, raising concerns about the efficiency and integrity of the country’s justice system.
Despite this, Ghana’s overall governance score improved by +1.2 points, ranking it 7th out of 54 African countries in 2023, up from 8th place in 2014.
This improvement was driven by significant progress in key sectors, particularly in public administration (+9.7), education (+9.4), infrastructure (+9.2), health (+7.4), and the business and labour environment (+7.2).
These gains reflect Ghana’s strong performance in economic management and human development over the past decade.