The rule of law is an ambiguous term that can have different meanings in different contexts. In one context, the term rule means to govern according to the law. No one may be ordered by the government to pay civil damages or to be prosecuted except in strict accordance with established and clearly defined laws and procedures. In a second context, the term means domination before the law. No branch of government is above the law and no public official may act arbitrarily or unilaterally outside the law. In a third context, the term domination means according to a higher law. No written law can be enforced by the government if it does not conform to certain unwritten universal principles of fairness, morality, and justice that transcend human legal systems. The Russian concept of the rule of law has adopted many segments of constitutional economics, which serves as a practical implementation of higher legal theory in economics. The Russian legal system, which emerged in the 19th century thanks to the reforms of Emperor Alexander II, was (and still is) primarily based on the German legal tradition. From the latter, Russia adopted the doctrine of the rule of law, which literally translates to “rule of law”. The next English analogue is “the rule of law”. [12] The Russian concept of the rule of law adopts the written constitution as the supreme law of the land (the rule of the constitution).

It is a fundamental but undefined principle that appears in the very first provision of Russia`s post-communist constitution: “The Russian Federation – Russia – forms a democratic federal constitutional state with a republican form of government. Similarly, the very first optional provision of the Ukrainian Constitution states that “Ukraine is a sovereign and independent, democratic, social and legal state.” Therefore, the effort to make sense of the definition of the “rule of law” is anything but theoretical. These sample phrases are automatically selected from various online information sources to reflect the current use of the word “superior law”. The views expressed in the examples do not represent the views of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us your feedback. In other countries, however, political leaders assert that all written laws must be respected in accordance with universal principles of morality, fairness and justice. These leaders argue that the rule of law, as a necessary consequence of the axiom that “no one is above the law,” requires the government to treat all people equally before the law. However, the proclaimed right to equal treatment may become immediately invalid whenever the government denies a sufficient degree of respect, dignity and autonomy to a particular class of persons or to human rights in general. [10] Therefore, the unwritten and universally explicit principles of equality, autonomy, dignity and respect are said to prevail over the conventional written laws of government. It is these principles that are often referred to as the “natural law.” They also form the basis of “higher legal theory”. In some countries, political leaders claim that the rule of law is a purely procedural concept.

Therefore, they argue that any government can deprive its subjects of their fundamental freedoms or harm their vital interests, as long as it does so through a properly implemented legal mechanism. For example, some of the former leaders of Nazi Germany at the Nuremberg trials, in an attempt to justify their crimes against the Jewish and Roma population of Europe during World War II, argued that they had not broken any of the laws that were in place when Hitler was in power. Only by invoking the rule of superior law could Allied prosecutors overcome such defenses. [9] The doctrine of the rule of law (rule of law, rule of law, rule of law, constitutional government) was first introduced by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant in his recent work, completed after the United States. and French constitutions had been adopted in the late 18th century. [11] Kant`s approach is based on the primacy of the country`s written constitution, created according to the principles of higher law. This supremacy meant creating guarantees for the implementation of its central idea: a permanent peaceful life as a prerequisite for the happiness and prosperity of citizens. Kant based his doctrine exclusively on the idea of constitutionalism and constitutional government. The idea of an ultimate law of justice that goes beyond the current law of the state—a superior law—was first introduced in post-Roman Europe by Catholic jurists in canon law.

[3] In this context, “higher law” can be interpreted as divine or natural right or fundamental legal values enshrined in international law – the choice depends on the point of view; Whatever the source, it is a law above the law. [4] And as such, it has the same legal value for both common law and civil law, unlike natural law, which is largely associated with the common law. [5] “Recognising the necessary link between the rule of law as an ideal and well-constructed constitutional government does not mean that all states can or must maintain the same constitutional structures in practice.” [6] “Higher Law”. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/higher%20law. Retrieved 11 October 2022. Prior to the American Civil War, African Americans were denied equal rights and freedoms under formal codes that dictated master-slave relations. While these codes are de jure adapted to legal practice, their application by the U.S. government de facto violates the fundamental human rights of a significant portion of the population. William H. Seward proclaimed that slavery is prohibited by “a law superior to the Constitution.” Scientists have spent centuries studying this topic.

Some believe that because the law is drafted in such vague and ambiguous terms, all court decisions will inevitably reflect the personal preferences of the presiding judge. Other scholars argue that most laws can be interpreted in a neutral, objective, and apolitical manner, even if not all judges agree on the appropriate interpretation. In both cases, the rule of law is best served if judges are open to other interpretations of constitutional, legal and common law principles. Otherwise, courts run the risk of anticipating certain cases in the light of their personal philosophy. Higher Law rule is a practical approach to the implementation of superior legal theory, creating a bridge of mutual understanding (with regard to universal legal values) between the English-language rule of law, traditionally for common law countries, and the original German doctrine of law, translated into other continental European languages as the rule of law (French). estado de derecho (Spanish), stato di diritto (Italian) and Правовое государство (pravovoe gosudarstvo) (Russian). [7] The latter doctrine is the product of continental European legal thought, which it had borrowed from German philosophy of law.