The rule of law is the principle that governmental authority may be legitimately exercised only through clearly established, publicly promulgated laws applied through fair procedures, rather than through the arbitrary decisions of individual rulers. Aristotle framed the ancient version of the question as whether it is preferable to be ruled by the best man or by the best laws, arguing that law's generality and advance promulgation make it superior to unpredictable personal rule. John Locke made legal predictability a check on governmental power in the Second Treatise of Government (1689). A.V. Dicey gave the principle its classic modern legal formulation in Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885), holding that no person, however powerful, stands above the ordinary law of the land.
Facts
Founding ContextTraces to English constitutional development, including Magna Carta's 1215 limits on royal authority, and was given its classic modern formulation by the jurist A.V. Dicey in the nineteenth century as the principle that government and citizens alike are bound by publicly known law applied by independent courts. 1 Connections
Advocated By
Dicey's Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885) gave the rule of law its classic modern formulation: no person is above the law, and every person is subject to the ordinary law of the realm.
Source The Rule of Law (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Locke's Second Treatise (1689) made governance through known, standing laws rather than arbitrary decree a central check on legitimate governmental power.
Source The Rule of Law (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Founded By
Aristotle's Politics posed the founding question of rule by law versus rule by the best man, favoring law's generality and advance promulgation over the unpredictability of personal rule.
Source Aristotle's Political Theory (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Fred Miller
Influenced By
Source Constitution of India Factsheet (PIB India)
Source Habeas Corpus Act, England 1679 (Britannica)
Source Magna Carta (Britannica)
Source Bill of Rights Ratified: December 15, 1791 (Gilder Lehrman Institute)
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Same As
Also in Law Atlas: the same subject.
Sources
1. The Rule of Law (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy1. One Contested Ideal Among Others
The basic demand of the rule of law is that people in positions of authority should exercise their power within a constraining framework of well established public norms rather than in an arbitrary, ad hoc, or purely discretionary manner.
- Advocated By: John Locke
- Advocated By: A. V. Dicey
View the Source Aristotle's Political Theory (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Fred Miller, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyFounded By: AristotleView the Source Bill of Rights Ratified: December 15, 1791 (Gilder Lehrman Institute)
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American HistoryInfluenced By: United States Bill of RightsView the Source Magna Carta (Britannica)
Constitution of India Factsheet (PIB India)
Press Information Bureau, Government of IndiaInfluenced By: Constitution of IndiaView the Source Habeas Corpus Act, England 1679 (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaInfluenced By: Habeas Corpus Act 1679View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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