What is the Rule of Law?

The rule of law is a system in which laws protect the rights of every member of society. The rule of law offers participation, fairness, and protection. It is perhaps the only political arrangement that guarantees a mechanism by which all citizens can secure their rights and pursue their interests. This system has at least three criteria: All members of society have the opportunity to participate in identifying and overseeing the implementation of the laws; Everyone is bound by these laws, including the ruler or government itself; and The laws protect the rights of every individual as well as the public interest of society. This definition provides a concrete set of criteria through which citizens can analyze their own society and others. In particular, it helps them distinguish rule of law from rule by law, in which the strong or elite make the laws and use them to dominate the weak. No society has a perfect rule of law. Nowhere on earth is every law applied with perfect fairness and every individual equally protected. Instead, we can talk about a “spectrum” on which societies are closer or further from the rule of law. .