The World Justice Project has released its 2011 Rule of Law Index covering 66 countries across the world. The WJP divides the world into regions and ranks countries based on the region they are in. For the Middle East and North Africa, only 5 countries are surveyed and they rank as follows:

1. United Arab Emirates
2. Jordan
3. Iran
4. Lebanon
5. Morocco

According to the report, Lebanon…

…stands out in the region due to its efforts to guarantee civil rights and freedoms amongst its people (ranking 1st in the region and 26th globally). The country is relatively safe from crime, but public institutions are inefficient and corrupt. Of particular concern is the case of the administration of justice, mainly because of corruption and political interference within the civil courts, delays, discrimination against marginalized groups, and absence of guarantees of due process of law in criminal cases.

In detail, the report goes on to state that Lebanon outperforms its regional peers in:

• Right to life and security of person
• Freedom of opinion and expression
• Freedom of belief and religion
• Arbitrary interference of privacy
• Freedom of assembly and association

As for all the other factors, Lebanon either falls on par or below the other four countries.