Want Justice? Try Scandinavia

The U.S. may still present itself as the “land of dreams,” but for the “land of justice,” try Scandinavia instead.

The World Justice Project’s newly released Rule of Law index for 2013 put Denmark in top spot ahead of neighbors Norway, Sweden and Finland. But while scoring high overall — notably for government accountability, fundamental rights, lack of corruption and criminal justice — the Nordic quartet was cautioned for discrimination against foreigners and ethnic minorities.

Out of the 99 surveyed countries, the U.S. ranks in 19th place, wedged between France and Uruguay. While fairly consistent with its peers in North America and Western Europe, the U.S. was found to underperform for privacy, due process of law, fundamental labor rights, equal judicial treatment of disadvantaged groups and the unaffordability of legal assistance.

With the lowest points for both government accountability and criminal justice, Venezuela captures the bottom of the list, just below Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.