The Rule of Law: The New Leviathan?

1999 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olufemi Taiwo
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Global Level ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Ordering ◽  
Soviet Communism ◽  
Just Society ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
The Ideal

These are the best of times for the Rule of Law. In all parts of the world, states, governments, and individuals, have found in the rule of law, at various times, a rallying cry, a principle of social ordering that promises the dawn of a just society that its supporters in Euro-American democracies claim to be its crowning glory, or a set of practices that is a sine qua non of a good society. The pursuit of the ideal is nothing new: after all, even those states where it was observed more often in its breach always paid lip service to it. And the defunct socialist countries of Eastern Europe, while they existed, could not escape its lure even as they sought to give it a different nomenclature—socialist legality. The movement towards the rule of law has accelerated after the collapse of Soviet communism and its foster progeny in different parts of the world. Given the present momentum towards the rule of law and the widespread enthusiasm with which it is being embraced and pursued at the global level, some would consider it somewhat churlish for anyone to inject any note of doubt or caution. This is more so when such a note emanates from Marxist quarters. But that is precisely what I wish to do in this essay. Although I do not intend to rain on the rule of law’s entire parade, I surely propose to rain on a segment of it: the Marxist float. I propose to look at the issue within the context of the Marxist politico-philosophical tradition.

scholarly journals Breaking Up the Unity of the World: Peter Fitzpatrick’s Conception of Responsive Law

2020 ◽  
pp. 174387212097533
Author(s):  
Johan van der Walt
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
The Other ◽  
Short Article ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The World ◽  
The Law ◽  
The One ◽  
The Ideal

This short article on Peter Fitzpatrick’s conception of “responsive law” analyzes the ambiguous temporality that Fitzpatrick discerned in modern law. On the one hand, law makes the claim of being fully present and therefore already and completely contained in itself. This aspect of law reflects the law’s claim to “immanence,” that is, its claim of always being able to rely strictly on its own operational terms without having to take recourse to any consideration not already contained within itself. It is this aspect of law that renders the ideal of the “rule of law” feasible. On the other hand, the law’s claim to doing justice to every unique and therefore every new case also demands that it takes leave of that which is already settled within it. This aspect of law can be called its “imminence.” The imminence of the law concerns the reality that law always finds itself on the threshold of that which has not yet been said and must still be said. The article shows how Fitzpatrick relied on Freud’s concept of the totem to explain the “wondrous” unity of its immanence and imminence.

COMMENTS ON THE REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL PANEL ON SOCIAL PROGRESS, CHAPTERS 9 AND 14: INEQUALITY, DEMOCRACY AND THE RULE OF LAW

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-469
Author(s):  
Alina Rocha Menocal
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
International Panel ◽  
The World

Over the past 30 years, the world has experienced a profound transformation, becoming both more open and more prosperous. Whereas in 1985 more than half of the countries worldwide were under authoritarian rule, most countries today are considered electoral democracies (Economist Intelligence Unit 2017). Since 1990, more than a billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty (World Bank 2016), while well-being indicators have improved dramatically on a global level, especially in terms of health and education (International Idea 2017).

THE POLITICAL FRONTIERS OF EUROPE AS A CIVIL SOCIETY: J. HABERMAS’ REJECTION OF A EUROPEAN VOLK AND M. FOUCAULT'S BALANCE OF POWER AS PROTECTIONS AGAINST EUROPEAN NATION‐STATE

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Machiel Karskens
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
European Institutions ◽  
The World ◽  
The Ideal

With the help of J. Habermas and M. Foucault, it is argued that the idea of Europe is, first of all, the ideal of an unlimited civil society. Human rights, the rule of law and the legal European institutions are its political backbone. The European Union itself is somehow the realization of this ideal conception of a borderless, unlimited society. It is argued that the European Union in this respect is a heterotopia within the bordered and sovereign member states themselves. Seen from the outside, however, and in the world of geopolitics, Europe is a political power with closed borders and excluding frontiers. In this respect the European Union is a continuation of the old European Balance of Power.

Why the Growing Concern About Corruption?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fritz Heimann ◽  
Mark Pieth
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
The United States ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Counterfeit Goods ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Different Parts

The need for action to combat corruption is paramount. Corruption undermines democratic institutions and the rule of law. This chapter describes the escalating public demand for action against corruption, including in China, Korea, India, South Africa, Nigeria, Brazil, France, Italy, Mexico, and the United States. Corruption hurts all parts of society but its most devastating effect is on the poor who are widely extorted by government officials to pay for public services that should be freely available such as admissions to clinics and schools, and access to water and electricity. Corrupt interests have taken over failed states in different parts of the world and utilize them as bases for illicit activities including drug trafficking, prostitution, and smuggling of counterfeit goods. Anticorruption programs started in the past quarter century have laid a solid basis for making progress. Perseverance and redoubled efforts are required. Failure to confront corruption would be totally irresponsible.

The Tyranny of the Ideal

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Gaus
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Moral Life ◽  
Moral Inquiry ◽  
Open Society ◽  
The Past ◽  
Theories Of Justice ◽  
The World ◽  
Diverse Society ◽  
Just Society ◽  
The Ideal

This book lays out a vision for how we should theorize about justice in a diverse society. It shows how free and equal people, faced with intractable struggles and irreconcilable conflicts, might share a common moral life shaped by a just framework. The book argues that if we are to take diversity seriously and if moral inquiry is sincere about shaping the world, then the pursuit of idealized and perfect theories of justice—essentially, the entire production of theories of justice that has dominated political philosophy for the past forty years—needs to change. Drawing on recent work in social science and philosophy, the book points to an important paradox: only those in a heterogeneous society—with its various religious, moral, and political perspectives—have a reasonable hope of understanding what an ideally just society would be like. However, due to its very nature, this world could never be collectively devoted to any single ideal. The book defends the moral constitution of this pluralistic, open society, where the very clash and disagreement of ideals spurs all to better understand what their personal ideals of justice happen to be. Presenting an original framework for how we should think about morality, this book rigorously analyzes a theory of ideal justice more suitable for contemporary times.

Russia and EU Countries: Partnership for Modernization

2013 ◽  
pp. 54-61
Author(s):  
T. Romanova ◽  
E. Pavlova
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
New Classification ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Normative Power ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The World ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Eu

The article examines how the normative power, which the EU puts forward as an ideological basis of its actions in the world, manifests itself in the national partnerships for modernization between Russia and EU member states. The authors demonstrate the influence of the EU’s normativity on its approach to modernization as well as the difference in the positions of its member countries. It is concluded that there is no unity in the EU’s approach to democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and the new classification of EU member states, which is based on their readiness to act in accordance with the Union’s concept of normative power, is offered.

Anti-Corruption Legislation In Turkish Law

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 903-914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Güne Okuyucu-Ergün
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Union Member ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Foreign Investors ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The World ◽  
Almost All

Corruption poses an increasingly serious threat against Turkey as well as the rest of the world in many respects. The fight against corruption is crucial, in particular, to achieve an economic and political stability, to attract foreign investors and to establish the rule of law. In addition to those interests, which are common for almost all countries, anti-corruption has a particular importance for Turkey in the achievement of its goal of becoming a European Union member, since anti-corruption is expected to feature prominently in Turkey's talks on European Union accession.

scholarly journals Obama's National Security Exceptionalism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudha N. Setty
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Security ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Norms ◽  
Global Community ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
War Criminals ◽  
The World ◽  
International Obligations

Published: Sudha Setty, Obama's National Security Exceptionalism, 91 CHI.-KENT L. REV. 91 (2016).This Article discusses how continued national security exceptionalism engenders a view of the United States as considering itself to be above international obligations to investigate and prosecute torturers and war criminals, and the view by the global community that the United States is willing to apply one standard for itself, and another for the rest of the world. Exceptionalism not only poses real challenges in terms of law, morality, and building useful relationships with allied nations, but acts as a step backward for the creation of enforceable international norms and standards, and in efforts to restore a balance in the rule of law when it comes to national security matters.

scholarly journals Public Pressure, Temptation of Power and Unconstitutional Actions in the War Against Terrorism in Kenya: Suggesting a Link

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-75
Author(s):  
Cecil Yongo
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
Intelligence Gathering ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The World ◽  
Public Pressure ◽  
The Government

The reaction of the government in Kenya, like many other governments around the world, to terrorist attacks has generally been to strengthen existing laws and enact novel laws, especially those that aid the state’s intelligence-gathering capabilities, along with those that are punitive. In some cases, even in Kenya, States have taken, or have attempted to take, extra-Constitutional and unconstitutional actions. This is the approach that this paper characterises as arising from ‘temptation of power’, and in that regard, this interdisciplinary paper is—through an analysis of scholarship in law, sociology and information/ communication—an attempt to investigate the origin, results and wisdom of such an approach in the war against terror, its effect on the rule of law and minority rights in society; and propose why and how it can be avoided.

The Courts, the Remote Hearing and the Pandemic: From Action to Reflection

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Legg ◽  
Anthony Song
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The World ◽  
Data Gap

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, courts around the world rapidly shifted to remote hearings. Balancing public health directives with the need to continue upholding the rule of law, what followed was the largest, unforeseen mass-pilot of remote hearings across the world. For courts this was necessarily a time of action, not reflection. However, after having maintained court operations, it is now necessary to reflect on the experience of remote courts and their users during an otherwise unprecedented situation. Unlike previous iterations of remote hearings, the COVID-19 experience was fully remote – whereby all participants took part in the hearing remotely. The difficulty is until now, almost no prior empirical data has existed on this type of fully remote hearing with the majority of previous research focused on the use of audiovisual links (‘AVLs’) to facilitate partially remote appearances within courtrooms. To bridge the research and data gap on fully remote hearings, this article draws on the previous body of literature to both examine the COVID-19 experience, and to assist in guiding future research and use of remote hearings.

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