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The world is no stranger to images of private opulence paid for with public money. The sprawling private residences and lavish compounds of deposed national leaders have become a common sight, showing there’s no shortage of corrupt leaders using government money for personal benefit—and getting away with it. What we see in the media may be just the tip of the iceberg, however. New data suggests that consequence-free corruption is a widespread, corrosive force on governments around the globe.

This article first appeared on the World Economic Forum blog on 3 April 2014.  Most economies in Latin America struggle with recurring problems in their institutional frameworks. The repeated flooding of the Bogota River illustrates the cyclical and expanding nature of these weaknesses and their devastating socio-economic impact.

This post first appeared in a newsletter containing news, analysis and commentary articles produced by Aidspan about The Global Fund and related issues. The commentary appears in Justice Rising with permission of the authors.   

This post first appeared on the Council on Foreign Relation's Emerging Voices blog, featuring contributions from scholars and practitioners highlighting new research, thinking, and approaches to development challenges. The article was posted as part of an ongoing CFR Development Channel series on global justice and development.  

“The WJP Rule of Law Index is a key contribution to the knowledge trust within the rule of law and economic fields.” – Scott Fulton, Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., DC, Visiting Scholar, Environmental Law Institute, Adjunct Professor, George Washington University School of Law   On April 8th, the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources World Justice Task Force (SEER) convened a multidisciplinary panel of experts to discuss the intersections of rule of law and sustainable development.

The New York Times editorial board called out New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday for breaking his promises to investigate corruption in the state’s politics. After shutting down the commission he had started to “investigate and pursue wrongdoing” among a government riddled with recent scandals, it seems the Times has lost their trust in Cuomo's efforts—a value he had repeatedly espoused.

Congratulations to our 2014 World Justice Challenge grantees! The World Justice Project has awarded seed grants to 15 startup initiatives including projects focused on advancing labor rights for cotton pickers in Pakistan, promoting equal treatment for women soccer players in Brazil, developing an open-source, online civic participation platform, and more.

Global competition funds 15 startup initiatives tackling corruption, crime, discrimination, and more

Healthcare may not be thought of as a rule of law issue, but when the right to free healthcare is violated by corruption, counterfeit medicines, or discrimination, innocent people suffer. A seed grant from the World Justice Challenge in 2013 allowed the Cameroon Healthcare Access Program to tackle corruption in the healthcare system, where patients do not receive the free medicines they need and are asked to pay bribes for free services.

Since we released the WJP Rule of Law Index 2014 two weeks ago, on March 5th, our findings have been featured in over 20 languages—in more than 200 media outlets—worldwide. Following are a few notable mentions, but you can always check our media page for the most up-to-date information on where WJP is contributing to the rule of law conversation around the globe.  

Each year, thousands of children living on the streets of Bogotá, Colombia, are arrested and end up in juvenile detention centers. In 2013, with a seed grant from the World Justice Project, the Dutch-based Young in Prison partnered with Colombian-based Familia Araya to help incarcerated youth change their relationship with the rule of law.

In honor of International Women's Month, we are highlighting three programs incubated by the WJP that address the rights of women and girls. With seed grants and support from the WJP, these programs are helping to break down barriers that women and girls face in accessing justice.

"I am deeply convinced that the Rule of Law Index is among the most important tools for assisting the post-communist countries in Eastern Europe in the process of reforming our societies during the transition period." -- The Honorable Petar Stoyanov   The WJP Rule of Law Index relies on over 100,000 household and expert surveys to measure how the rule of law is experienced in everyday life around the world. In advance of the launch of the WJP Rule of Law Index 2014, we asked leading global voices to share their thoughts on the importance of

"The Rule of Law Index provides guidance in an objective manner, as a universal standard for self-evaluation and assessment, and as a compass for steering our nations forward, in demand for social, political, and economic justice and advancement." -- Honorable Justice Hassan Bubacar Jallow   The WJP Rule of Law Index relies on over 100,000 household and expert surveys to measure how the rule of law is experienced in everyday life around the world. In advance of the launch of the WJP Rule of Law Index 2014, we asked leading global voices to

"If you want to improve the rule of law, you need a way to measure it.

"The rule of law matters to all of us, to the entire human family.

"[The Rule of Law Index] is a tool that can bridge the gap between what we think we need and tell us how we can actually achieve it. And this applies to all countries, be they countries that enjoy developed justice systems, or countries that are in the course of developing justice systems.

"The Index is incredibly useful, not just for academic researchers, who might be interested in how to improve rule of law, but also for people who are working on the ground day to day in this area." -- Jenny S.