Modern challenges for the rule of law

The “rule of law” is an age-old notion that sounds paradoxically both archaic and dynamic.

- Vitit Muntarbhorn

Yet it offers new possibilities for addressing current challenges such as corruption, environmental harm, and the expanding range of stakeholders, especially the business sector, in the digital vortex of automation, algorithms, and artificial intelligence (Al).

Originally, the English version of the rule of law advocated the supremacy of law, meaning that everyone is subject to the law; equality before the law, including fair trials; and constitutionalism, implying a balancing act among different state institutions, even where the state does not have a written constitution. The third element was premised on the perceived role of the judiciary, enjoying independence and invigorated by judge-made law, or “common law”. By contrast, the notion has at times been abused to claim that it is sufficient for a state merely to have a written constitution and courts of law, even where there are major abuses against the population in both peace and war. In reality, non-democracies often invoke the term to validate their power base, epitomised by what is better described as “rule by law’.

Yet the notion has weathered the times. A welcome step towards transparency and coherence concerning the rule of law has been provided by the World Justice Project, a civil society initiative that measures the performance of some 140 countries under its global Rule of Law Index, alongside the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The 2025 version of the Rule of Law Index was discussed recently at a key seminar of the Thailand Institute of Justice. It is based on the following indicators: constraints on government powers; absence of corruption; open government; fundamental rights; order and security; regulatory enforcement; civil justice (pertaining to civil litigation); and criminal justice. Thailand was ranked 77th globally, two places up from last year, out of 143 countries.