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Rule of Law Coalition

The Coalition for the Rule of Law in Global Markets promotes and defends the rule of law in global markets as a critical factor in fostering a worldwide investment climate that supports equality, economic growth, and shared prosperity for the world’s citizens.

The Rule of Law Coalition fosters a global business environment where countries respect the rule of law and provide due process under law to investors, producers, and service providers of every nationality. The Coalition supports and defends constitutionalism as the underpinning for the broader application of the rule of law and highlights violations while advocating for prompt and just resolutions.

Objectives of the Coalition for Rule of Law in Global Markets

The aim of the Coalition for the Rule of Law in Global Markets is to:

  • Vigorously defend the rule of law, sanctity of contracts, and respect for property rights, including intellectual property, and advocate for the quick resolution of related conflicts.
  • Foster an understanding of the varying regional realities related to rule of law, ranging from those that impede business and investment, to those undermining national competitiveness, to those posing an outright threat to democratic institutions.
  • Promote the negotiation and implementation of vehicles such as trade agreements for the strengthening of government institutions related to rule of law.
  • Highlight, where applicable, provisions in existing and pending trade agreements that improve governmental transparency, combat corruption, protect due process, or otherwise enhance the rule of law.
  • Help ensure that the benefits of rule of law and constitutional processes are more broadly shared and understood throughout our societies.

The Rule of Law is among the most crucial factors in a company’s ability to do business profitably in any given market over time.

For a privately-owned company whose continued operations are dependent on a return on investment over time, there are several factors related to the rule of law that will determine its ability to make rational investment and operating decisions, and thereby have a reasonable expectation of returning a profit:

  1. Transparency – laws and regulations applied to business must be readily accessible and easily understood;
  2. Predictability – laws and regulations must be applied in a logical and consistent manner;
  3. Stability – the state’s rationale for the regulation of business must be cohesive over time, establishing an institutional consistency across administrations, and free from arbitrary or retrospective amendment;
  4. Enforceability/Accountability – investors must be confident that the law will be upheld and applied equally to government as well as private actors;
  5. DueProcess – when disputes inevitably arise, they must be resolved in a fair, transparent, and pre-determined process.

Throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, countries that actively promote and defend the rule of law are fostering an investment climate that supports job creation, economic growth, and shared prosperity for the region’s citizens.

But a number of Latin American countries have taken stances that are seen as inimical to the rule of law and hostile to investment.

The 2021 Dashboard

This research based tool, covering 113 markets, regional profiles, and trend summaries and case studies highlight why the Coalition for the Rule of Law in Global Markets and its members are focused on the rule of law as a building block for economic recovery.

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2021 Rule of Law for Business Dashboard

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