Policing the Margins and the Rule of Law
The Concepts
Three Essentials and six Stages
The rule of law is a principle stipulating that law should govern a nation, not the divine right of kings or the arbitrary decisions of individual government officials. It refers to the influence and authority of law within society, particularly as a constraint upon autocratic tendencies in the behaviour of rulers (kings, presidents) and government officials from cabinet ministers to judges and police officers. John Locke wrote that freedom in society means being subject only to laws made by a legislature that apply to everyone, with a person being otherwise free from both governmental and private restrictions upon liberty. The "rule of law" was further popularized in the 19th century by British jurist A. V. Dicey. However the principle, if not the phrase, was recognized by ancient sages and philosophers, such as Aristotle, who wrote "It is more proper that law should govern than any one of the citizens". Three elements of the rule of law are:
- Rulers are not above the law, but beneath it. They have to obey the law just as the ordinary citizen has.
- The law applies to everyone equally, with every person being otherwise free from both governmental and private restrictions upon liberty.
- There is an independent judiciary that can be appealed to when citizens believe that government officials unjustly restricted their freedom. This judicial review is essential where police and citizens come into conflict.
Rule of law implies that every person is subject to the law, including people who are lawmakers, law enforcement officials, and judges. In this sense, it stands in contrast to an autocracy, dictatorship, or oligarchy where the rulers are held above the law. Lack of the rule of law can be found in both democracies and dictatorships, for example because of neglect or ignorance of the law, and the rule of law is more apt to decay if a government has insufficient corrective mechanisms for restoring it. Government based upon the rule of law is called nomocracy.
- (1) Rule by Law
- (2) Formal rule of law
- (3) Solid rule of law (+ checks and balances)
- (4) Liberal rule of law (+ individual liberties)
- (5) Democratic rule of law (democratic genesis of legislation)
- (6) Democratic and social rule of law
Policing the Center and Policing the Margins
Singapore vs. Norway
The relation between the police, the courts, and the margins of society as the shibboleth of the rule of law.
The Reality: Approximations
Methods of Measurement
Rule of Law can be seen as a gradual phenomenon with different degrees of approximation to the ideal type. Its operationalization poses a number of problems that have been discussed in the political sciences by various authors.
The Rule of Law Index
Dimensions
Country Studies
Additional Illustrations
Theoretical Considerations
Erosion of State Sovereignty: Trutz v. Trotha
Dual Power, Dual State
Bibliography
- Møller, Jørgen and Svend-Erik Skaaning (2014) The Rule of Law. Definitions, Measures, Patterns and Causes. London: Macmillan Palgrave.
Weblinks
See also
Kriminalpolitik und Rechtsstaat