Question

Short note on rule of law

Answer 1

– Arbitrary power is today resented and feared in States which retain their faith in a democratic government. In a democratic society, most people understand by “Rule of law” a state of affairs in which there are legal barriers to governmental arbitrariness and legal safeguards for the protection of individual and procedural and legal transparency.

Thus Rule of law implies absolute supremacy or predominance of regular law. It assures that an individual can ascertain with reasonable certainty what legal powers are available to the government if his private rights are infringed or affected.

The concept of rule of law as formulated by A.V Dicey in the 19th century explained it as inconsistent with arbitrary or wide discretionary authority on part of the government.

Answer 2

The rule of law is the legal principle that law should govern a nation, as opposed to being governed by decisions of individual government officials. It primarily refers to the influence and authority of law within society, particularly as a constraint upon behavior, including behavior of government officials. The phrase can be traced back to 16th century Britain, and in the following century the Scottish theologian Samuel Rutherford used the phrase in his argument against the divine right of kings.