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Rule of Law

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Tamanna Adiba
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17 views14 pages

Rule of Law

Uploaded by

Tamanna Adiba
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Rule of Law

 The rule of law encompasses well-


defined rights and duties, as well as
mechanisms for enforcing them and
settling disputes in an impartial
manner.
 It requires the state and its subsidiary
agencies to be as much bound by and
answerable to the legal system as are
private individuals and enterprises
(ADB)
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Rule of Law
 Rule of law is an established legal
framework that should be fair and
enforced impartially, particularly the
laws on human rights

 Rule of law entails equal protection


of human rights of individuals and
groups as well as equal punishment
under the law
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Rule of Law
 It reigns over governments and protects
citizens against arbitrary state action.

 It ensures that all citizens are treated


equally and are subject to the law rather
than to the whims of the powerful.

 The law should also afford vulnerable


groups protection against exploitation
and abuse.
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Dimensions of Rule of Law
 The rule of law has two main
dimensions:

 The Instrumental
 The Substantive

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The Instrumental
 The instrumental
dimension concentrates
on the formal elements
necessary for a system
of law to exist

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The Substantive
 The substantive dimension
refers to the content of the law
and concepts such as justice (for
example: due process), fairness
(the principles of quality) and
liberty (civil and political rights)
 It suggests that the formal dimension
needs to be complemented by
substantive principles of the rule of law
to create a ‘fair’ legal system

 According to the World Bank, a ‘fair’


legal system is, in a general sense,
conductive to balanced development;
one that facilitates growth and
responds to the needs of the poor
people.
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Justice vs Law
 Not just the rule of law, the rule of justice
is also essential to good governance. On
the surface, arguments for rule of law
may seem unexceptionable. But in a
politico-legal situation that has anti-poor
laws, or where law enforcement is anti-
poor or pro-poor laws are selectively
enforced, it is preposterous to assume
that the rule of law will automatically
yield justice.
Elements of Rule of Law
Five elements are critical to ensure
stability and predictability of the rule
of law for market (World Bank):
 A set of rules known in advance

 Rules that are actually in force

 Ensuring application of the rules

 Conflict resolution

 Amendment procedures
A set of rules known in advance

 This implies 3 elements: the


existence of a coherent set of
rules; that these rules are
communicated with accuracy,
clarity and effectiveness and
that only those rules are applied
which are known in advance.
Rules that are actually in force

 For a law to be in the books is


not enough. It has to be in force
in practice, not merely in name
and it has to be applied.
Ensuring application of the rules

 The state should exercise power


only under the authority of law.
Government officials should also
be subject to law and their
actions should be prescribed and
limited by specific legal
authority.

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Conflict resolution

 An independent and credible


judicial system, which assures that
private contractual arrangements
are respected and that the
executive uniformly applies the
law, is essential for the rule of law
to maintain its conflict-resolving
and confidence-inspiring function.

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Amendment procedures

 Creating a climate of
predictability and stability as
opposed to governmental
arbitrariness, is one of the
primary functions of the rule of
law. This is undermined when
rules are constantly or arbitrarily
repealed, amended or waived.
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