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than that of any individual. ‘ The Rule of Law is a chameleon-like notion. Used by different
people it may mean radically different things. The notion stems from many traditions and is
intertwined with the evolution of history of law itself. One of the first examples of the
codification of law presented to the public and applied by the ruler is The Code of Hammourabi
The concept of rule of law is deeply linked to the principle of justice, involving an ideal
of accountability and fairness in the protection and the prevention and punishment of wrongs.
Lord Steyn held that the focus of the rule of law is to constrain the abuse of official power,
protecting the citizen's right to legal certainty in respect of interference with his liberties. 2
While Professor Jowell has described it as ‘ flexible and effective force behind the evolution of
However, despite its undoubted experience, it’s difficult to explain the meaning of this
concept since it has a different meaning to different people. In British constitutional lawyer’s
view , it seems to mean primarily a corpus of basic principles and values which held some
stability and coherence to legal order. While in politician’s view ,the rule of law becomes a stick
with which to beat other regimes, as seen in the Report of the War Crimes Inquiry which
1
Available at http://www.unrol.org/article.aspx?article_id=3 on April 27 2014
2
M Ryan and S Foster, Unlocking Constitutional & Administrative Law (2nd edn ,Hodder Education, Euston Road,
London 2010) 93.
3
Neil Parpworth , Constitutional & Administrative Law ( 4 thedn, Oxford University Press, New York 2006) 32.
4
War Crimes Inquiry (1989) Cm 744 preceded the enactment of the War Crimes Act 1991, it was argued , amongst
other things that the jurisdiction to try war criminals for offences committed on foreign soil was being extended to
the English Court by the Act because the USSR had no rule of law.
One of the key componentsof the rule of law, is to limit the governmental action to
avoid the use of arbitrary power. The action of the state officials that impact on the individuals
must have a clear fundamental in law .This is the principle of legality. InArt 5(2) of the
European Convention on Human Rights that , the person whom is being arrested has to be
informed of the reason and on what grounds he is being detained. When state officials is
interfering with individual freedom , they are required to justify legally their actions.
In this sense, the rule of law is a procedural mechanism which ensures that the
government and its officials act under the law. This is to avoid unlawful act towards a person
and officials to take their position granted. This principle of legality is illustrated in the case of R
v Chief Constable of Cheshire Police5 where the court granted a declaration that the police had
no lawful power to seize the certificate of Jones due to dishonesty as the Pedlars Act 18716 had
AV Dicey is most referred in the concept of rule of law, with his written book titled ‘ The
Law and Constitution’. According to Dicey, he claimed that the rule of law is one of the two
pillars of the British Constitution along with the notion of Parliamentary Sovereignty. 7 He laid
down three postulates to explain the concept of his perspective : - (1) no man can be punish
unless there is a breach of law , (2) No man is above the law and (3) Common law affords a
5
R ( Jones) v Chief Constable of Cheshire Police [2005] EWHC 2457 (Admin)
6
Pedlars Act 1871
7
Rabinder Singh, Public Law Study Manual LL.B (1st edn Brickfields Asia Corporation, KL 2011)pg 39
His first postulate explains that laws which are enforced under which people are
interpretation also exist as The Parliament tend to avoid the retrospective effect. This is shown
in the case of Waddington v Miah9.The governments do not have any rights to make arbitrary
or retrospective penal laws and that the discretionary power of the government is limited. 10
There are few cases reversed inconvenient court decisions by way of retrospective
legislation due to the doctrine of Parliamentary supremacy. In the case of R v R11 involves the
issue of marital rape. House of Lordoverturned the matrimonial exception to rape and held that
the law must change when there are a change of circumstances, which was a retrospective
decision. In the other case of Burmah Oil v Lord Advocate12, The Parliament passed the War
Damages Act 196513 after the House of Lords awarded compensation to Burmah for the
In the case of Holocaust where arbitrary laws were pass to assassinate the Jewish
people during the World War ll in Germany causing many Jews were killed despite them not
committing any crime. This could be seen that it go against Dicey’s first postulate .This action
also shows the abuse of arbitrary power , which already offend the Human Rights. Thus, Dicey’s
8
Available at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldselect/ldconst/151/15115.htm April 27 2014
9
Waddington v Miah [1974] 1 WLR 683where House of Lords use Art 7 of ECHR which prohibits the imposition of
retrospective criminal liability into English law by the Human Rights Act 1998,to interpret the Immigration Act 1971
as an aid of construction to only have prospective effect
10
H Barnett, Constitutional & Administrative Law (8th ednRoutledge, Milton Park, Abingdon 2011) 68.
11
R v R [1991] 3 WLR 767 House of Lords
12
Burmah Oil Company Ltd v Lord Advocate, [1965] AC 75
13
War Damages Act 1965 which exempts to Crown from liability to pay compensation for the destruction and
damage due to the action of the Crown during the outbreak of the war
first postulate interprets the rule of law not only concerning the referred law by state officials ,
However, the Parliament could derogate from the Human Rights Act which is clearly
seen in the Anti-Terrorism 200114 where it allows for the indefinite detention of a suspected
terrorist without trial which is clearly unfair. Even if the Anti Terrorism Laws of 200515 now
allows the detention of 25 days without a legal council which is slightly fairer than before , it
The second postulates explains that, everyone is subjected to the law regardless what
position they are in the society. Thomas Fuller reflects that ; “Be you ever so high, the law is
above you”16It is also mentioned by Lord Denning memorably in the case of Gouriet v Union of
Post Office Workers17, “Be you ever so high, the law is above you”.
Dicey argues that, both the private citizens and the state officials are under the ordinary
law which means that, they will neither be given special protection nor enjoy special
immunities from the law. This idea of legal equality was no mere abstract notion.
In the case of M v Home Office18, the courts held that the Home Minister was in the
condemn of the court since he take action against the court and send the teacher back to his
14
The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001introduced into the Parliament of the United Kingdom two
months after the terrorist attacks on New York on 11 September. It received royal assent and came into force on
14 December 2001. Many of its measures are not specifically related to terrorism, and a Parliamentary committee
was critical of the swift timetable for such a long bill including non-emergency measures.
15
The Act allowed the Home Secretary to impose "control orders" on people who were suspected of involvement in
terrorism, which in some cases may have derogated (opt out) from human rights laws. As yet, no derogating
control orders have been obtained under s.4 of the relevant Act.
16
Available at http://www.lawteacher.net/miscellaneous/essays/the-rule-of-law.php#ixzz309hEFOSQ April 28
2014
17
Gouriet v Union of Post Office Workers [1977] 3 All ER 70
18
M v Home Office (1994) 1 AC 377 HL
country. This case shows that everyone is under the law including the government and its
officials. In the case of Entick v Carrington19, the courts held that the King’s messengers without
a general warrant were liable under trespass as all is equal under the law. This shows the
principle of legality but is the aspect of the wider concept of the rule of law. Nevertheless, its
presence ensures that the rule of law acts as a safeguard against the violation of an individual’s
rights.20
Even so there are existence of Judicial Immunity21 and Diplomatic Immunity22 which
have special rights. The French system where government activities were dealt with by separate
ordinary courts of law.When the law is established, it intended to bring good reasons but
however, the officials might take this advantage for granted and not be able to punish under
AV Dicey had not refer to many sources of law as he left out EU laws , international laws
and statutes since they did not exist at that point of time. Dicey third postulate concerns the
rights of individuals are determined by legal rules and not the arbitrary behavior of authorities.
23
There is no need for a bill of rights because the general principles of the constitution are the
result of judicial decisions determining the rights of the private person.Dicey expressed that
common law affords greater protection to the citizens rather than a written constitution.
19
Entick v Carrington [1765] EWHC KB J9
20
Neil Parpworth , Constitutional & Administrative Law ( 4th edn, Oxford University Press, New York 2006) 42.
21
Judges cannot be sued in the court of law as they cannot be fearful of making decisions.
22
Diplomats will have a D-C number plate cannot be stop by the police as the rational is that they are in a rush for
an urgent matter.
23
Available at http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/rule_of_law.htm April 28 2014
There are certain areas where the courts will not interfere, for example , the granting of
titles , national security , declaration of war and peace , and defense of the realm. The case of
GCHQ24 puts a limit to what a court can do which contradicts Dicey’s postulates. In Factor
Tame25 , the European Court of Justice held that it contravenes the EU agreement where
English law denies Spanish nationals as majority of members must be English nationals. All
members states be given equal rights in a country. Thus, EU law prevails over common law.
British Constitution is not written down anywhere but rather is the result of centuries of
legal precedent. Dicey called this a judge-made constitution and he viewed this form of
the legal decision which enunciates a right, one essentially also finds the legal decision which
describes how said right is to be enforced. Even if the law works as a guideline of one’s action in
a country and punish those who do wrong, the law should take one’s liberty into account as
As time goes, the rule of law does not merely obliged the government and citizens to
comply with the law. It requires more than that to meet internationally agreed standards. The
The modern approach could be reflected in Lord Bingham’s eight sub-rules which is
stated down by him to represent the modern society of the generation , which is : -
24
Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service [1985] AC 374
25
Secretary of State for Transport, Ex Parte Factortame Ltd and Others, R v. [1999] UKHL 44
(1) The law must be clear and accessible to all.
(2) Exercise of discretion is not allowed when in comes to enforcement, thus there must
be a strict liability.
(4) Law must afford protection of Human Rights for the citizens.
(6) The government officials must exercise their powers in good faith.
(7) The adjudicative procedures provided by the state should be fair, cannot be swayed
by external factors.
From the eight principles laid down by Lord Bingham , it had fully support his core
“that all persons and authorities within the state, whether public or private, should be
bound by and entitled to the benefit of laws publicly and prospectively promulgated and
Lord Bingham’s principles would be more suitable to explain the concept of rule of law
compared to Dicey’s three postulates in a modern society. Nevertheless, there are flaws that
person can understand. However in reality, there are too many of statutory instruments for a
normal lay person to understand and apply it. There are also statutes that have a similar
concept which cause confusion. Even if there are no difficulties for the understanding part,
Besides that, discretion is given in certain matters such as injunctions and bankruptcy.
Mentally ill and handicapped are also given discretions. This showed that law could not be
applying equally to all in some circumstances. However, the law must afford protection of
Human Rights for citizen in order to ensure that the state officials will avoid the use of arbitrary
power. Therefore even if the Anti-Terrorism 2001 had improvise to Anti-Terrorism 2005, the
Human Rights Act clearly did not apply on full force since there are still no fair trial available for
suspected terrorist. This goes against the four principle of Lord Bingham.
And also, litigation is expensive even if it held that there should not be in excessive
costs. Trials go up to at least a year and always delay. The existence Judicial and Diplomatic
Community have shown biasness towards the government and state officials comparing to the
More to that, the French government system where Dicey had criticized also portrait
that such benefits enjoy by the Ministers actually went against Lord Bingham’s principle of law
should be equal to all and ministers should exercise in good faith because nobody could
actually know whether if the Ministers have used their benefits for personal reason. As pointed
out by Sir Ivor Jennings, '…pawnbrokers, money lenders, landlords … and indeed most other
classes have special rights and duties', meaning that no one is absolutely equal. 27
The UK themselves did not follow the international law which was laid down in the eight
principle by Lord Bingham , in year 2003 where the UNSC did not accept the evidence and there
are legality of war. However, the UK breached this. In some circumstances, it is difficult for the
judges and ministers to truly follow what had laid down in the law. Therefore, some principles
could only be applied when the situation matches and there is no certainty.
By observing these 8 principles, and in particular the fifth, affording adequate protection
of fundamental human rights, we avoid the dilemma identified by Professor Joseph Raz in his
1979 work ‘The Authority of Law’.28 He held that the law and morality are separate issues,
claiming that it belongs to a school of tort. He also claimed that the rule of law is a political idea
where everyone is ruled by the law and guide individuals to plan their lives accordingly. Thus,
he argued that the making of laws should be guided by, inter alia29 with the following principle
Where the other academician , Karl Marx refers the rule of law as the opium of the
masses. He held that the law is created to benefit the aristocrats and a device by the Lords to
benefit themselves. The middle class will only earn a middle class income. The law which is
created by the Lord definitely was drawn with their benefits on their sleeves, which is unfair to
27
Available at http://advocatustomis.blogspot.com/2011/12/in-introduction-to-study-of-law-of.html assessed April
30 2014
28
Available on https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-rule-of-law-and-the-prosecutorApril 30 2014
29
A phrase used in Pleading to designate that a particular statute set out therein is only a part of the statute that is
relevant to the facts of the lawsuit and not the entire statute.
30
J Raz, ‘The Rule of Law and its Virtue’ [1977] 93 LOR 195
the middle class people. Therefore, the law sometimes does play biasness and it is held
legalized.
Yet, the basic notion of the rule of law is no one may exercise power unless that power
has been granted to that individual by law. In other words, the government is under the law.
Jeremy Waldron had concluded this notion in his book “The Law” , that the Rule of Law renders
us ‘in a sense equal again’. Of course it does not imply the content of individual laws could not
promote substantive equality but rather the concern of formal equality. 31 As well as promoting
so, the rule of law has more basic purpose that of acting as a constraint on government power,
a power which ‘has the ability to overwhelm any of us with physical force’ 32.
Frederich Von Hayek said that, “ The Rule of Law implies limits on the scope of
legislation, it restricts to the kind of general rules known as formal law and excludes legislation
directly aimed at particular people.” 33 He drew out the difference between ‘ a free country’ and
‘ a country under arbitrary government’. It is only considered as free country when the
government is bound by the rule of law which that politically-determined rules need to be fixed
and known publicly in order to create a stable and certain framework in which individual
Hayek followed Dicey in demanding that all citizens must have access to an independent
judiciary before they can challenge the legality of government action. Hayek also believed in
31
Helen Fenwick and Gavin Phillipson , Text, Cases & Materials on Public Law & Human Rights ( 2 ndedn, Wharton
Street, London 2003) , p75
32
Jeremy Waldon , The Law : Theory and Practice in British Politics (Taylors & Francis 1990) , p 31
33
Hayek, Friedrich August, The Road to Serfdom (Routledge Classics edn, Routledge 2001) , Chapter 6
34
Available
athttp://www.aspeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/content/docs/HAYEK_ROAD_TO_SERFDOM_CH._6_(AS08).PD
F May 1st 2014
excluding morality from law andthus giving individual total freedom, which he have the same
thoughts with Professor Joseph Raz in line with Article 835 of HRA.
There is a criticism in his concept of rule of law because it is not realistic. If the citizens
are given power to organized their social and economic affairs without the control of
legislation, they might have too much of freedom and draw a bigger range in between the
inequality of society where the rich becomes the richer and the middle class still earning middle
class income , or lesser. This situation could be seen in the society of India. Therefore,
legislature is indeed important and could not be deem vanish as it could ensure that an
individual act under law , and not abuse the other’s goodwill. This could also apply to the
government and state officials. With legislation , the state officials will not be able to abuse the
rights they have . Thus, I do not agree with Hayek’s concept of the rule of law even he implies
In contradict, E.P Thomson have drawn a more realistic view in his concept of rule of
law. He believed that the State was still abusing itspower through the legislative process
tofurther its selfish interest. He mentioned that‘…the ROL, itself, the imposing of effective
inhibitions upon power and the defenseof the citizen from power’s all intrusive claims, seems
Indeed, the rule of law is a very philosophical chapter as each academician has a
different intake of the law. AV Dicey explains the rule of law based on the relationship of the
citizens and the law. The law is bound by everyone but it still embraces the rights based on the
35
Right to Privacy.
36
Daniel H. Cole , “An Unqualified Human Good': E.P. Thompson and the Rule of Law.” Journal of Law and Society
28:2 (June 2001) : pg 188
HRA. While, Lord Bingham explains the rule of law with the right principles which is claimed
more suitable for the current society since EU law, international laws and statutes is included
where Dicey had missed out since they did not exist at that point of time.
However, there is no definite answer which academician’s concept towards the rule of
law is correct since it depends on the individual whether to agree or disagree. Besides that, the
law changes from time to time and has to improve to meet the current society. Thus, the
concepts which we are learning now may not be applicable in the future.
2997 words
Bibliography
Articles
Daniel H. Cole , “An Unqualified Human Good': E.P. Thompson and the Rule of Law.” Journal of
Law and Society 28:2 (June 2001)
Joseph Raz, "The Rule of Law and its Virtue", Law Quarterly Review 93:1 (1977)
Lord Bingham, “ The Rule of Law” Cambridge Law Journal 66:1 (March 2007)
Books
Hayek, Friedrich August, The Road to Serfdom (Routledge Classics edn, Routledge 2001)
Helen Fenwick and Gavin Phillipson , Text, Cases & Materials on Public Law & Human Rights
( 2nd edn, Wharton Street, London 2003)
Jeremy Waldon , The Law : Theory and Practice in British Politics (Taylors & Francis 1990)
M Ryan and S Foster, Unlocking Constitutional & Administrative Law (2nd edn ,Hodder
Education, Euston Road, London 2010)
Neil Parpworth , Constitutional & Administrative Law ( 4th edn, Oxford University Press, New
York 2006)
Rabinder Singh, Public Law Study Manual LL.B (1st edn Brickfields Asia Corporation, KL 2011)
Electronic Sources
Available at
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldselect/ldconst/151/15115.htm April 28
2014
Available at http://www.lawteacher.net/miscellaneous/essays/the-rule-of-
law.php#ixzz309hEFOSQ April 28 2014
Available on https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-rule-of-law-and-the-prosecutor
April 30 2014
Available at
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/content/docs/HAYEK_ROAD_TO_SERFDOM_
CH._6_(AS08).PDF May 1st 2014
Table of Statutes
Anti-Terrorism 2001
Table of Cases
Burmah Oil Company Ltd v Lord Advocate, [1965] AC 75
Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service [1985] AC 374
Secretary of State for Transport, Ex Parte Factortame Ltd and Others, R v. [1999] UKHL 44
Aristóteles disse mais de dois mil anos atrás: ‘O estado de direito é melhor é melhor do
que o de qualquer indivíduo. Rule O Estado de Direito é uma noção de camaleão.
Usado por pessoas diferentes, pode significar coisas radicalmente diferentes. A noção
deriva de muitas tradições e está entrelaçada com a evolução da história do próprio
direito. Um dos primeiros exemplos da codificação da lei apresentada ao público e
aplicada pelo governante é O Código de Hamurabi, promovido pelo rei da Babilônia em
1760 aC.
AV Dicey é o mais referido no conceito de estado de direito, com seu livro escrito
intitulado 'The Law and Constitution'. Segundo Dicey, ele afirmou que o Estado de
Direito é um dos dois pilares da Constituição Britânica, juntamente com a noção de
Soberania Parlamentar. Ele estabeleceu três postulados para explicar o conceito de
sua perspectiva: (1) nenhum homem pode ser punido a menos que haja uma violação
da lei, (2) nenhum homem está acima da lei e (3) o direito comum oferece uma
proteção maior a direitos do cidadão.
Seu primeiro postulado explica que as leis aplicadas sob as quais as pessoas são
condenadas devem ser aprovadas de maneira legal apropriada. Também existe uma
presunção de interpretação estatutária, pois o Parlamento tende a evitar o efeito
retrospectivo. Isso é demonstrado no caso de Waddington / Miah. Os governos não
têm nenhum direito de fazer leis penais arbitrárias ou retrospectivas e que o poder
discricionário do governo é limitado.
Existem poucos casos que reverteram decisões judiciais inconvenientes por meio de
legislação retrospectiva devido à doutrina da supremacia parlamentar. No caso de R v
R envolve a questão do estupro conjugal. A House of Lordovertornou a exceção
matrimonial ao estupro e sustentou que a lei deve mudar quando houver uma mudança
de circunstâncias, que foi uma decisão retrospectiva. No outro caso de Burmah Oil /
Lord Advocate, o Parlamento aprovou a Lei de Danos de Guerra de 1965, depois que a
Câmara dos Lordes concedeu uma indenização a Burmah pela destruição de
equipamentos de petróleo, realizada retrospectivamente.
No caso do Holocausto, onde foram aprovadas leis arbitrárias para assassinar o povo
judeu durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial na Alemanha, causando a morte de muitos
judeus, apesar de não terem cometido nenhum crime. Pode-se ver que isso vai contra
o primeiro postulado de Dicey. Essa ação também mostra o abuso de poder arbitrário,
que já ofende os Direitos Humanos. Assim, o primeiro postulado de Dicey interpreta o
estado de direito não apenas no que diz respeito à lei referida por funcionários do
estado, mas também nos direitos humanos básicos dos indivíduos.
Dicey argumenta que, tanto os cidadãos quanto as autoridades estatais estão sob a lei
comum, o que significa que eles não receberão proteção especial nem gozarão de
imunidades especiais da lei. Essa idéia de igualdade jurídica não era mera noção
abstrata.
AV Dicey não se referiu a muitas fontes de direito, pois deixou de fora as leis, leis e
estatutos da UE, uma vez que eles não existiam naquele momento. O terceiro
postulado é que os direitos dos indivíduos são determinados por regras legais e não
pelo comportamento arbitrário das autoridades. Não há necessidade de uma
declaração de direitos, porque os princípios gerais da constituição são o resultado de
decisões judiciais que determinam os direitos da pessoa privada. Dicey expressou que
o direito comum concede maior proteção aos cidadãos do que uma constituição
escrita.
A Constituição britânica não está escrita em lugar algum, mas é o resultado de séculos
de precedentes legais. Dicey chamou isso de constituição feita por um juiz e ele
considerou essa forma de constituição superior a uma constituição escrita. Eu pensei
que Dicey acredita que, ao encontrar a decisão legal que enuncia um direito, encontra-
se essencialmente também a decisão legal que descreve como esse direito deve ser
aplicado. Mesmo se a lei funcionar como uma diretriz da ação de alguém em um país e
punir quem comete um erro, a lei deve levar em conta a liberdade de alguém, conforme
reivindicado na HRA 1998 pelo Tribunal Europeu.
A abordagem moderna pode ser refletida nas oito sub-regras de Lord Bingham, que
são indicadas por ele para representar a sociedade moderna da geração, que é:
(1) A lei deve ser clara e acessível a todos.
(4) A lei deve garantir a proteção dos direitos humanos para os cidadãos.
(7) Os procedimentos adjudicativos fornecidos pelo Estado devem ser justos, não
podem ser influenciados por fatores externos.
Dos oito princípios estabelecidos por Lord Bingham, ele apoiava totalmente seu
princípio central do Estado de Direito em seu livro, que é:
Ele afirmou que a lei não deve ser complicada e precisa ser direta, para que o leigo
possa entender. No entanto, na realidade, existem muitos instrumentos estatutários
para um leigo normal entender e aplicá-lo. Existem também estatutos que têm um
conceito semelhante que causa confusão. Mesmo se não houver dificuldades para a
parte de entendimento, também há um problema de aplicativo.
E também, litígios são caros, mesmo que sustentem que não deve haver custos
excessivos. Os ensaios duram pelo menos um ano e sempre atrasam. A existência de
comunidade judiciária e diplomática demonstrou parcialidade em relação aos
funcionários do governo e do estado em comparação com os cidadãos normais, onde
eles têm vantagem com sua posição.
Além disso, o sistema do governo francês em que Dicey criticou também retrata que
esses benefícios desfrutados pelos ministros realmente foram contra o princípio da lei
de Lord Bingham devem ser iguais a todos e os ministros devem se exercitar de boa
fé, porque ninguém poderia realmente saber se os ministros usaram seus benefícios
por motivos pessoais. Conforme apontado por Sir Ivor Jennings, '... corretores de
penhor, emprestadores de dinheiro, proprietários de terras ... e de fato a maioria das
outras classes tem direitos e deveres especiais', o que significa que ninguém é
absolutamente igual.
O próprio Reino Unido não seguiu a lei internacional que foi estabelecida no princípio
dos oito por Lord Bingham, no ano de 2003 em que o CSNU não aceitou as evidências
e há legalidade da guerra. No entanto, o Reino Unido violou isso. Em algumas
circunstâncias, é difícil para os juízes e ministros seguirem verdadeiramente o que
havia previsto na lei. Portanto, alguns princípios só poderiam ser aplicados quando a
situação corresponder e não houver certeza.
Onde o outro acadêmico, Karl Marx refere o estado de direito como o ópio das massas.
Ele sustentou que a lei é criada para beneficiar os aristocratas e um artifício pelos
Lordes para se beneficiarem. A classe média ganhará apenas uma renda da classe
média. A lei que é criada pelo Senhor definitivamente foi desenhada com seus
benefícios nas mangas, o que é injusto para as pessoas da classe média. Portanto, a
lei às vezes desempenha um viés e é legalizada.
No entanto, a noção básica do estado de direito é que ninguém pode exercer poder, a
menos que esse poder tenha sido concedido a esse indivíduo por lei. Em outras
palavras, o governo está sob a lei. Jeremy Waldron concluiu essa noção em seu livro
"A Lei", de que o Estado de Direito nos torna "num sentido igual novamente". É claro
que isso não implica que o conteúdo de leis individuais não possa promover a
igualdade substantiva, mas a preocupação com a igualdade formal. Além de promovê-
lo, o Estado de Direito tem um propósito mais básico: agir como uma restrição ao
poder do governo, um poder que "tem a capacidade de sobrecarregar qualquer um de
nós com força física".
Frederich Von Hayek disse que, "O Estado de Direito implica limites no escopo da
legislação, restringe-se ao tipo de regras gerais conhecidas como lei formal e exclui a
legislação diretamente direcionada a pessoas específicas". Ele estabeleceu a diferença
entre "um país livre" e "um país sob governo arbitrário". Somente é considerado país
livre quando o governo está vinculado ao estado de direito que essas regras
politicamente determinadas precisam ser fixadas e conhecidas publicamente para criar
uma estrutura estável e certa na qual o planejamento individual e a coordenação social
complexa possam florescer.
Hayek seguiu Dicey exigindo que todos os cidadãos tivessem acesso a um judiciário
independente antes de poderem contestar a lei.