The material is devoted to analyzing Hong Kong's position in the rule of law ranking compiled by the World Justice Project. The authors draw attention to the fact that beyond obvious and visible violations of law, there exists a less apparent but more destructive problem — institutional injustice. Its manifestations include political favoritism, whereby positions and privileges are distributed based on personal connections rather than competence; legal discrimination, when the law is applied selectively depending on a person's status or connections; and cronyism — a system of patronage and mutual favors within elite groups. According to the authors, these forms of abuse of power cause the greatest damage to the rule of law, since they entrench inequality at the systemic level and undermine public trust in institutions. Unlike isolated cases of corruption or arbitrary action, institutional injustice becomes embedded in the very structure of governance and law enforcement, making it harder to identify and eliminate. The World Justice Project ranking traditionally evaluates countries and territories according to a number of criteria, including constraints on government power, absence of corruption, openness of governance, protection of fundamental rights, order and security, compliance with regulatory norms, and civil and criminal justice. Hong Kong's position in this ranking is viewed as an indicator of the state of the territory's legal system and its ability to ensure equality before the law for all citizens, regardless of their political or social connections.