Rule of Law

Definitions
• the legal principle that law should govern a nation,
as opposed to being governed by arbitrary
decisions of individual government officials
• the authority and influence of law in society,
especially when viewed as a constraint on
individual and institutional behavior, hence the
principle whereby all members of a society
(including those in government) are considered
equally subject to publicly disclosed legal codes
and processes (Oxford English Dictionary)
• It primarily refers to the influence and
authority of law within society, particularly as
a constraint upon behavior, including behavior
of government officials.
• phrase that can be traced back to 16th century
England, and popularized in the 19th century
by British jurist A. U. Dicey (see also Aristotle:
”Law should govern”)
• It implies that every citizen is subject to the
law, including law makers themselves.
• It stands in contrast to autocracy, collective
leadership, dictatorship or oligarchy where
rulers are held above the law and to the idea
that the ruler is above the law, for example by
divine right.
• Lack of the rule of law can be found in both
democracies and dictatorships, for example
because of neglect or ignorance of the law, and
the rule of law is more apt to decay if a
government has insufficient corrective
mechanisms for restoring it. Government based
on the rule of law is called normocracy.
• In the U.K., the rule of law is a long-standing principle of
the way the country is governed, dating from Magna
Carta in 1215 and the Bill of Rights (1689).
• A.V. Dicey (constitutional scholar and lawyer, XIX th
century: Introduction to the Study of the Law of the
Constitution, 1885): the two pillars of the British
Constitution:
● the rule of law
● Parliamentary sovereignty
• In the U.S. – all government officers of the U.S.,
including the President, the Justices of the Supreme
Court, state judges and legislators, and all members of
the Congress pledge first and foremost to uphold the
Constitution. This oath affirms that the rule of law is
superior to the rule of any human leader.