What is rule of law?

British Constitution. It means that in Britain the ordinary law should be everywhere
supreme, and every person is subject to the ordinary law courts. There is nothing
which may be characterized as arbitrary power.
Every action of the government must be authorized by law, either by law passed by
Parliament, or by the ancient principles of Common Law which have been recognized
for many hundred years.
The test is that all actions of government can be appealed against in the ordinary
law courts. This remains the general rule, though in recent years there have been
encroachments upon it and they have excited some alarm.
nturies of struggle of the people for the recognition
of their inherent rights. In Britain the Constitution does not confer specific rights on
the citizens. Nor is there any Parliamentary Act which lays down the Fundamental
Rights.
Yet, the people enjoy maximum liberty and judiciary is their unfailing guardian,
the law, not to do whatever they think fit.
The Latin tag salus populi suprema lex the welfare of the people is the supreme
law cannot be used by the government as an excuse for pursuing its own idea of
the public interest without regard to legality. Anything done by government officials
either beyond law or in excess of law is subject to control by courts.
The ordinary law of the land is of universal application and there are no divisions
of separate systems of law, for instance, one for officials and another for ordinary
citizens.

The maxim carries with it the rule that the remedies of the ordinary law will be
sufficient for the effective protection of the rights of the citizens. Rule of Law, in brief,
ensures liberty and security to all individuals alike and is, therefore, antithetic to
arbitrariness and discrimination of any kind.
It accepts all men as alike before law and the same law is applicable to all irrespective
of their station in life. Rule of Law is really the essence of democracy. Democary
subsists where Rule of Law prevails.

History

Although credit for popularizing the expression "the rule of law" in modern times is
usually given to A. V. Dicey, development of the legal concept can be traced through
history to many ancient civilizations, including ancient Greece, China, Mesopotamia,
India and Rome.

The conce

law as opposed to the influence of arbitrary power, and excludes the existence of
arbitrariness, of prerogative, or even of wide discretionary authority on the part of
government.

Englishmen are ruled by the law and by the law alone; a man may, with us, be
punished for a bre
It means that the executive has no arbitrary powers over the individual; no powers
that had not been sanctioned either by Parliament or by the Common Law. It is the
paramountcy of law and its sanction is the consent of the people.
This principle implies that no person may be arbitrarily deprived of life, liberty, or
property; no one may be arrested or detained except for a definite breach of law
which must be proved in a duly constituted court of law.
Trial must be held in an open court with a free access to the public. The accused
person has the right of being represented and defended by a counsel and in all
serious criminal cases he should be tried by a jury.
Judgment is rendered in an open court with a right to appeal to High Court. The
presence of these rights reduces to the minimum the possibilities of executive
arbitrariness and oppression.
the ordinary law of
that everyone is subject to the ordinary law of the realm and can have his rights
determined in the ordinary courts.
There are two implications in it. First, equality of every citizen, irrespective of his
official or social status, before law. Secondly, there is one kind of law to which all
citizens are amenable.
All public officials, high or low, are under the same responsibility for every act done
by them. If public officials do any wrong to an individual or exceed the power vested
in them by law, they can be sued in the ordinary courts and tried in the ordinary

manner, and are subject to the provisions of ordinary law. The equality of all in the
eyes of law minimises the tyranny and irresponsibility of the executive.
from the Prime Minister to a constable or a collector of taxes, is under the same
The general legal theory holds that an executive official is privately liable whenever
he oversteps the precise authority which the law assigns him.
with us the law of the constitution, the rules which in foreign countries naturally form
part of the constitutional code, are not the sources, but the consequences of the rights
of individuals, as defined and enforced by the courts.
It means the main principles of the constitution, such as the right of personal liberty
or of public meeting, have been set up on the foundation of the old common law and

case.

Limitation of rule of law

A limitation on the arbitrary exercise of power immediately raises questions about

the power of providers in virtual communities. Essentially, providers have control over
the code that creates the platform, allowing them to exercise absolute power within the
community itself. Any feature of the community can be changed at will by altering
the code in some way.