Strengthening the rule of law assessment is of great significance. It is an important content of the “four-comprehensiveness” strategic arrangement and the construction of a socialist state under the rule of law, a necessary requirement of the adherence to “Four matters of confidence of socialism with Chinese characteristics” (confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics) and the enhancement of China’s voice at home and abroad, and an integral component of the sound development of legal education and research and the prosperity of philosophy and social sciences in China. The rule of law assessment system urgently needs to be improved. Firstly, there is a shortage and lack of concentration of professionals and funding in the field of the rule of law assessment; secondly, the theory and teaching of the rule of law assessment are lagging behind the practice, the assessment theory needs to be further improved and the assessment method needs to be made more scientific; thirdly, the design of assessment indices is not scientific enough; and fourthly, some assessments are too subjective. To further advance the work of the rule of law assessment, China must: firstly, adopt a sound rule of law assessment index system; secondly, adhere to principle of objectivity in assessment; and thirdly, strengthen the support of scientific research on the rule of law assessment.

The author is a search fellow at and the head of the Department of the Survey and Study of National Conditions of the Rule of law, CASS Law Institute. This article is published in the Journal of CASS on September 8, 2020.