U.S. drops to 112th out of 143 countries on access to civil justice
The World Justice Project’s 2025 Rule of Law Index ranks the U.S. 112th out of 143 countries on “accessibility and affordability of civil justice.” This factor measures:
the accessibility and affordability of civil courts, including whether people are aware of available remedies, can access and a afford legal advice and representation, and can access the court system without incurring unreasonable fees, encountering unreasonable procedural hurdles, or experiencing physical or linguistic barriers.
The U.S. rank dropped 5 spots since 2024 and over 40 spots from 2015 to 2025.
The 2014 report said of the U.S. that “Civil legal assistance is frequently expensive or unavailable, and the gap between rich and poor individuals in terms of both actual use of and satisfaction with the court system is significant.”
The NCCRC's John Pollock was one of the contributing experts to the report.
