Methodology

Principles

1. Score the hardest case. A right is measured by how it treats the least sympathetic person who uses it: the Holocaust denier, the blasphemer, the person buying their own antibiotics, the person who wants to die.
2. Law and practice both count. Every vignette gets a de jure score (what statute and case law say) and a de facto score (what police, prosecutors and regulators actually do).
3. The process is the punishment. Arrest, search, investigation, legal cost and years of litigation chill conduct even when the case ends in acquittal. They are scored, not only convictions.
4. Negative rights only. Healthcare access, housing or a minimum wage are not counted. A state scores better by forbidding less, not by spending more.
5. Peaceful adults, consenting parties. Conduct that uses force or fraud against a non-consenting person is out of scope.
6. No bonus for good intentions. A restriction counts the same whether it is called hate-speech law, public health, child protection or national security.
7. Reproducible. Every score traces to a fixed vignette, a written answer and a cited source.

Scoring

Each vignette gets a 0–10 score built from the law (DJ), the practice (DF), and a process penalty (P) of up to 2 points.

V = max(0, 0.4 × DJ + 0.6 × DF − P)

Subnational jurisdictions. Where states, provinces or cantons make their own law on a vignette, each gets its own score, and the national score is their population-weighted average. The capital is reported separately and does not set the score.

Fees and tax stamps. A fee or tax anyone can pay is permission, not prohibition. The US National Firearms Act 200 USD tax stamp for machine guns and destructive devices scores 6.

Aggregation. Category scores are the mean of their vignettes. The headline score is the mean of all 12 categories, equally weighted. We also publish a “weakest 3” score, the mean of a country's three lowest categories, because a country that jails apostates is not made free by its gun laws.

Data collection

1. Desk coding. A coder reads the statutes, leading cases and regulator guidance for every vignette and drafts the de jure score with citations.
2. Practitioner survey. Two or more local lawyers answer each vignette in writing: what happens to this person, typically and at worst?
3. Enforcement data. Prosecution and arrest counts, freedom-of-information requests and case trackers set the de facto score and the process penalty.
4. Blind second coding. A second coder scores from the same evidence. Gaps of more than 1 point are reconciled and logged.
5. Right of reply. Governments and local civil-society groups see draft scores 60 days before publication.
6. Publication. Every score ships with its evidence file.

Categories and vignettes

12 categories, 41 vignettes. Each is a concrete scenario about a peaceful adult, posed identically in every country, with its own scoring anchors. Click a vignette for its full spec and every country's score.

Default assumptions. Unless a vignette says otherwise, the person is a 30-year-old citizen of sound mind with no criminal record, acting alone, on their own behalf and not for profit, in an ordinary residential area. Where subnational units (states, provinces, cantons, Länder) make their own law, each unit is scored and the result is weighted by population. 'The state' includes police, prosecutors, courts, regulators, tax authorities and anyone acting on their orders, including platforms obeying takedown orders.

Speech

Protection for odious, offensive and blasphemous speech, insults to rulers, and praise of banned groups.

1. S1 Holocaust denial — What can the state do to the author because of the post?
2. S2 Ethnic or religious slurs — What can the state do to the author because of the post?
3. S3 Flag and scripture burning — What can the state do to the person because of the burning?
4. S4 Insulting the head of state — What can the state do to the author, either on its own initiative or on the head of state's complaint?
5. S5 Praising a banned organisation — What can the state do to the person because of the pamphlet?
6. S6 Repeated misgendering — What can the state do to the author because of the posts?

Libel

Whether defamation is criminal, who bears the burden of proof, and how easily the powerful can sue critics.

1. L1 Honest but false accusation — What can the businessman, or the state, do to the blogger?
2. L2 True report about a politician — What liability does the journalist face for a true report about a public official?
3. L3 Foreign billionaire suing a critic — How exposed is the critic to a well-funded suit over opinion?

Arms

Owning rifles, handguns and heavy weapons, carrying in public, and carrying non-lethal defensive tools.

1. A1 Semi-automatic rifle — What must they do to own it lawfully, and what happens if they own it without that?
2. A2 Handgun at home — What must they do to own it and keep it loaded, and is self-defence an accepted reason?
3. A3 Concealed carry — Can they get the right to carry, and on what terms?
4. A4 Pepper spray or pocket knife — Is carrying either for self-defence lawful? Score the more permissive of the two.
5. A5 Machine gun or destructive device — Is there any lawful route for an ordinary citizen to own one? Score the more permissive route.

Self-defense

Using force against attackers and intruders without a duty to retreat.

1. D1 Shooting an armed intruder — What does the state typically do to the homeowner?
2. D2 Standing your ground — Does the law impose a duty to retreat, and what typically happens?

Medical freedom

Buying medicine without a prescription, using drugs approved abroad or experimental, selling organs, refusing vaccines.

1. M1 Antibiotics without prescription — Can they buy it, and what happens to buyer or seller if they do without a prescription?
2. M2 Drug approved abroad — Can they obtain or import it?
3. M3 Experimental drug for the dying — Can the patient get it?
4. M4 Selling a kidney — Can they be paid, and what happens to the parties if they are?
5. M5 Refusing a vaccine — What does refusal cost them?

Right to die

Assisted dying for terminal and non-terminal suffering, and helping a friend die.

1. R1 Terminal illness, lethal medication — Can the doctor lawfully provide it, and what risks does the doctor face?
2. R2 Non-terminal suffering — Can the doctor lawfully help?
3. R3 Helping a friend — What happens to the helper?

Drugs

Possessing and selling cannabis and other recreational drugs between adults.

1. B1 Cannabis possession — What is the legal consequence?
2. B2 Psilocybin or MDMA possession — What is the legal consequence? Score the more lenient of the two.
3. B3 Selling cannabis — What is the legal consequence for the seller?

Sex and family

Sex work, non-traditional families, and homeschooling.

1. X1 Paid sex between adults — What is the legal consequence for either party? Score the worse-treated party.
2. X2 Three-adult household — Can they do so lawfully, and can they make their arrangements binding?
3. X3 Homeschooling — Can they, and on what terms?

Privacy

Encryption, anonymous phones and internet, and paying in cash.

1. P1 Reading encrypted messages — What can the state lawfully do to get at them?
2. P2 Anonymous phone and internet — Can they?
3. P3 Paying cash for a car — Is the payment lawful, and is it reported?

Conscience and association

Founding religions and associations, unannounced protest, and apostasy.

1. C1 Founding a religion or association — Can they operate without the state's permission?
2. C2 Unannounced protest — What can the state do to the organiser?
3. C3 Public apostasy — What can the state do to them?

Movement and exit

Leaving the country with your assets and renouncing citizenship.

1. E1 Emigrating with assets — What does leaving cost them?
2. E2 Renouncing citizenship — Can they, and at what cost?

Property and process

Civil asset forfeiture, pretrial detention and bail, and building on your own land.

1. K1 Cash seized without charge — Can the state keep the money, and who has to prove what?
2. K2 Arrest and pretrial detention — How long until they see a judge, and will they be released before trial?
3. K3 Shed on your own land — Do they need permission?