What exactly is the rule of law?
You have heard the term “rule of law” used every day, many times a day, by lawyers and non-lawyers in these times.
You thought you knew what they meant by it, they thought they knew what they meant by it. In general, you and them may have been beneficially close to the mark. But is close enough?
Here is one of many definitions:
The rule of law is a foundational principle of governance that holds that all individuals, organizations, and government entities are equally subject to and accountable under the law. At its core, this concept ensures that laws are clear, publicly promulgated, fairly enforced, and independently adjudicated.
The rule of law encompasses several key elements:
- Supremacy of law – No one is above the law, including government officials, legislators, and heads of state. All are equally subject to legal constraints and consequences.
- Legal certainty – Laws must be clear, stable, and predictable, allowing people to understand what is permitted and prohibited.
- Equality before the law – All persons are treated equally regardless of social status, wealth, or political position.
- Separation of powers – Authority is distributed among different branches of government (typically executive, legislative, and judicial) to prevent concentration of power.
- Independent judiciary – Courts must be impartial and free from external influence to interpret and apply laws fairly.
- Due process – Legal procedures must be fair, transparent, and respect fundamental rights.
- Protection of human rights – Basic rights and freedoms must be enshrined in and protected by law.
Historically, the concept has evolved from ancient civilizations through documents like the Magna Carta (1215), which limited the English monarch’s power, to modern constitutional democracies. The rule of law stands in contrast to rule by law, where law becomes merely a tool for rulers to exercise power rather than a constraint on that power.
When functioning properly, the rule of law provides stability, predictability, and protection against arbitrary government action. It creates the foundation for economic development, social cohesion, and democratic governance by ensuring that power is exercised according to established rules rather than personal whim.
Claude Sonnet 3.7
My legal education began with what was essentially a philosophy course. Professors Bill Bishin and Chris Stone had created a course at USC Law, and later created a textbook, called Law, Language and Ethics (the textbook contains 1,356 pages). My law school, relatively new at the time, had the wisdom to hire Bishin and to include him and this book in our first-year curriculum.
What I learned, and have never forgotten, and what every lawyer knows or should, and what every non-lawyer who comments, knowledgeably or not, about the law knows or should: law is complex and encompasses much more than rules.
For Bishin, LL&E evinced “this law school’s determination to offer a course dramatizing the relevance and utility of significant philosophical thought in the solutions of problems faced every day by judges, lawyers, legislators. Bishin understood that in all legal contests, “disputants are really arguing about the nature of reality, the problem of knowledge, the functions of language, the requisites of morality, the meaning of the good life, the ends of society.” (USC Law Magazine)
We live in a short-form cursory culture. Those who publicly talk about the “rule of law”, no matter how brilliant, whether lawyers, politicians, analysts, don’t usually have the time to go deep. Watchers and listeners, smart or not, don’t usually have the motivation or time to go deep.
But the next time you hear or say “rule of law’ take a beat or two to think about what you do or don’t actually understand, beyond the three-word slogan.
© 2025 by Bob Schwartz
Bob Schwartz 