what is the rule of law? explain with three argument
Answers
Answer:
Rule of Law – Meaning & Scope
Dicey in his work stated that Rule of Law is fundamental to the English legal system and gives the following three meanings to the doctrine:
Supremacy of Law
Rule of law according to Dicey means the absolute supremacy or predominance of regular law as opposed to the influence of arbitrary power or wide discretionary power.
It means the exclusion of the existence of arbitrariness on part of the government.
This in essence means that no man can be arrested, punished or be lawfully made to suffer in body or in goods except by the due process of law and for breach of a law established in the ordinary legal manner before the ordinary courts of the land.
Equality before Law
While explaining this aspect of the doctrine, Dicey stated that there must be equality before the law or equal subjection of all classes to the ordinary law of the land administered by the ordinary law courts.
Dicey believed that the exemption of civil servants from the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts of law and providing them with the special tribunals was the negation of equality.
He stated that any encroachments on the jurisdiction of the courts and any restriction on the subject’s unimpeded access to them are bound to jeopardise his rights.
Judge-made Constitution
Dicey observed that in many countries rights such as the right to personal liberty, freedom from arrest, freedom to hold public meetings, etc. are guaranteed by a written Constitution; in England, it is not so.
In England, those rights are the result of judicial decisions in concrete cases that have actually arisen between the parties.
Thus he emphasized the role of the courts of law as guarantors of liberty and suggested that the rights would be secured more adequately if they were enforceable in the courts of law than by mere declaration of those rights in a document.