The rule of law

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Credit for coining the term “The rule of law” is often given to professor A.V. Dicey in his book An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885).

However the idea behind the phrase has been around much longer. Aristotle wrote “It is better for law to rule than one of the citizens”

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Many argue the term is no longer of use due to dilution of meaning, overuse, and a diverging understanding. Everyone agreeing it is good, nobody agreeing on what it means.

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The term appears in countless judgements, many international declarations, treaties, conventions, and the British statute.

This alone means the term cannot be dismissed as having no meaning.

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Now that it exist in the British statute (undefined), it is only a matter of time before the courts are asked to make a ruling about what it means.

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All actors (public or private) within the state must be bound by, and benefit from, the same laws. Administered (ideally publicly) by the same courts.

John Locke, Second Treatise - 1690

Whenever law ends, tyranny begins

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The law must be accessible and so far as possible intelligible, clear, and predictable.

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In the UK (post brexit) laws are either parliamentary legislation or judge made law.

Acts of parliament are being made at increasing rates. Is this still true in the 2020s?

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There are occasions where even legal professionals struggle to deduce which legislation is applicable to a given circumstance.

Testing