The History of the Rule of Law

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 430-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Till Patrik Holterhus
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Theoretical Concept ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Broad Perspective ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
History Of ◽  
Theoretic Foundations

The article discusses the historical development of the rule of law’s basic principles. While indications of societies governed by law can be traced back to early civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia, what today is understood as the rule of law, is, however, a remarkable and continuous historical ascendency of a theoretical concept forged in the century-lasting struggle of subjecting governmental powers to law. Applying a broad perspective, the article first assesses the rule of law’s early antecedents in ancient Sumer, Babylonia, Rome, and Athens. It then examines the rule of law’s theoretic foundations in the Middle Ages and the concept’s advancements through the Enlightenment-fostered intellectual and religious revolutions. Finally, against this background, it takes a particular look at the rule of law’s consolidation, advancement, and proliferation in the 19th and 20th centuries.

‘Grammaticus ludens’: Theological Aspects of Langland's Grammatical Allegory

Traditio ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 251-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel A. Overstreet
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Literary Tradition ◽  
Piers Plowman ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Detailed Explanation ◽  
Ugly Duckling ◽  
History Of ◽  
Technical Terms

The grammatical allegory of Piers Plowman C, Passus 3, has aptly been designated ‘the ugly duckling of the C revision.’ Since Skeat's day the passage has been described as ‘tedious and puerile,’ ‘irrelevant,’ ‘unintelligible and barren of all interest.’ More recently, John Alford's admirable article on the history of grammatical metaphor has situated the passage in a long literary tradition, and thus opened the way for an appreciation of its virtues, however strange they may seem to moderns. From the goliardic song to the sermon, from venality-satire to the Donatus moralizatus, authors throughout the Middle Ages built wordplays and metaphors, sometimes extended ones, on the technical terms of Latin grammar. For the medieval preacher, various kinds of pride go before a casus, or fall: pride of name (nominative), pride of descent (genitive), pride of wealth and munificence (dative), and so on; for the goliard, one becomes genitivus as a result of too much bedroom conjugation For Langland's grammatical allegory, though, critics have had less success explaining the use of grammatical terms and doctrines. Alford gives a brief five-page treatment to the passage, focusing mainly on the analogy between grammatical rules and the rule of law; although he aptly notes the punning use of terms such as ‘kynde’ for the Incarnation and ‘case’ for a legal suit, he does not address the use of ‘relacion rect and indirect’ or ‘adiectyf and sustantyf’ around which the passage is built. On the other hand, the article which gives the most detailed explanation of Langland's grammatical doctrines still has trouble relating them to the exempla of husband and wife, master and laborer, and son and servant, and even to the key notions of meed and mercede, confessing in places that ‘Conscience's precise intentions must remain a mystery.’

scholarly journals The Constitution of Ukraine of 1710 and its place in the centuries-old history of nation-building

2020 ◽  
pp. 16-25
Author(s):  
Igor Boiko
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
French And English ◽  
History Of ◽  
Further Development

The article reveals the socio-political preconditions of the Constitution of Ukraine of 1710, analyzes its content and determinesits place in the centuries-old history of nation-building. It is noted that the Ukrainian Constitution of 1710 had an exceptional politicaland legal significance, as it was a regularity of the existence of the Ukrainian Cossack state and testified to the statehood of the Ukrai -nian nation. The Constitution of 1710 was a kind of social contract, the primary purpose of which is to ensure the rights and free deve -lopment of members of society. It enshrined the principle of separation of state power, established democratic and contractual principlesfor the formation of public authorities, the manner of their organization and interaction, determined their competence and functions.The Constitution of Ukraine of 1710 enshrined other important principles, including equality (Article 6 «equality of the Cossacks inpublic affairs»), the rule of law and the inviolability of natural human rights, which were the basis for preventing usurpation of power,violation of the integrity and sovereignty of the state. The competence of state authorities and officials was delimited and their constitutionalstatus was established. The Ukrainian Constitution of 1710 was focused on the establishment and development of the nationalidea, spiritual and moral values of peace, tolerance, goodness, and justice. During the period of the Ukrainian Cossack state, especiallyat the time of the adoption of its constitution in 1710, the formation of the national idea took place. The Constitution of Ukraine of 1710is important in the history of nation-building. Adopted during the Middle Ages, when predominantly absolutist monarchies ruled, itbecame the most advanced state act in European society at the time, defining Ukraine as a democratic Christian republic with an electedhetmanate. The Constitution of 1710 became the foundation for the further development of Ukrainian statehood. The first Ukrainianconstitution of 1710 was ahead of its time, it was adopted when the French and English educators had just begun to develop those cons -titutional ideas that were already laid down in it. As is typical of constitutions, it defined the state system, the order and principles offunctioning of representative, executive and judicial authorities, the electoral system, the rights and responsibilities of the state, societyand citizens. Given the above-analyzed basic provisions of the Constitution of 1710, it can rightly be considered the first written democraticconstitution in the world. Key words: constitution, state formation, republic, state, nation, Ukraine.

scholarly journals Philosophy and genesis of the judicial oath and the oath of office

2021 ◽  
pp. 71-79
Author(s):  
O. Kravchuk ◽  
I. Ostashchuk
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Origins ◽  
European Tradition ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Europe ◽  
Conscious Intention

The main features of the philosophy and genesis of the judicial and the oath of office are considered in the article. An oath is a conventional conditional-symbolic act based on an appeal to a person’s conscience in his conscious intention to identify and adhere to certain accepted values, as well as to a certain institution, a defined community or a specific representative of power. Judicial oath and oaths of office have both religious and legal origins, as they belong to the universal foundations of the formation of social institutions. The deep-rooted perception of the need to take and keep the oath in the performance of functional duties and the rule of law is traced in the article on selected examples from the history of Europe. There is a common feature of religious and modern judicial oaths and oaths of office. All of them are based on the inner moral imperative of man, on the awareness of one’s own responsibility and human dignity. The modern acceptance of some oaths with respect to a certain subject (Bible, crucifix, constitution, code, flag) has prehistoric roots, which indicates the precedence of symbolic gestures and movements of verbal texts in primitive rituals. In the Middle Ages, judicial oaths and oaths of office already used references to elements inherent in modern European tradition, in particular, justice and impartiality. The obligation to strictly reproduce the formula when taking a certain judicial oath or oath of office has an ancient Roman basis. In Rome to swear (iurare) meant to proclaim the formula “ius iurandum” (“oath”, literally – “the formula that must be formulated”). The oath of judicial lawyers (judges, prosecutors, lawyers) is a mandatory element of the beginning of the professional activity in the area of Justice. It appears as a ceremonial act, which publicly certifies a person’s readiness to perform the important duties assigned to him. In modern Ukraine, the oath is taken by judges and other officials at the beginning of their professional activity.

The Role of the Constitutional Court in the Development of the Rule of Law in Kosovo

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-313
Author(s):  
Enver Hasani
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional History ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Communist Countries

Kosovo’s Constitutional Court has played a role of paramount importance in the country’s recent history. The author uses a comparative analysis to discuss the role of the Court in light of the work and history of other European constitutional courts. This approach sheds light on the Court’s current role by analyzing Kosovo’s constitutional history, which shows that there has been a radical break with the past. This approach reveals the fact that Kosovo’s current Constitution does not reflect the material culture of the society of Kosovo. This radical break with the past is a result of the country’s tragic history, in which case the fight for constitutionalism means a fight for human dignity. In this battle for constitutionalism, the Court has been given very broad jurisdiction and a role to play in paving the way for Kosovo to move toward Euro-Atlantic integration in all spheres of life. Before reaching this conclusion, the author discusses the specificities of Kosovo’s transition, comparing it with other former communist countries. Among the specific features of constitutionalism in Kosovo are the role and position of the international community in the process of constitution-making and the overall design of constitutional justice in Kosovo. Throughout the article, a conclusion emerges that puts Kosovo’s Constitutional Court at the forefront of the fight for the rule of law and constitutionalism of liberal Western provenance.

scholarly journals Connecting Reproductive Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law: Lessons from Poland in Times of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1072-1097
Author(s):  
Atina Krajewska
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Reproductive Rights ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Abortion Law ◽  
Polish Society ◽  
History Of ◽  
Constitutional Tribunal ◽  
Litmus Test ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis article examines the relationship between reproductive rights, democracy, and the rule of law in transitional societies. As a case study, it examines the development of abortion law in Poland. The article makes three primary claims. First, it argues that the relationship between reproductive rights and the rule of law in Poland came clearly into view through the abortion judgment K 1/20, handed down by the Constitutional Tribunal in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. The judgment and the context in which it was issued and published are interpreted as reflections of deep-lying processes and problems in Polish society. Consequently, second, the article argues that analysis of the history of reproductive rights in recent decades in Poland reveals weak institutionalization of the rule of law. This is manifest in the ways in which different professional groups, especially doctors and lawyers, have addressed questions regarding abortion law. Therefore, third, the article argues that any assessment of the rule of law should take into account how powerful professional actors and organizations interact with the law. The Polish case study shows that reproductive rights should be seen as important parts of a “litmus test,” which we can use to examine the efficacy of democratic transitions and the quality of the democracies in which such transitions result.

scholarly journals Presidential Signing Statements and the Rule of Law as an “Unstructured Institution"

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Shane
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Signing Statements ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History ◽  
The Government ◽  
Signing Statement

The George W. Bush administration's use of signing statements embodied a disturbingly thin and formalist view of the rule of law that goes hand-in-hand with its vision of the separation of powers. Its signing statement practice was notable both for the extremity of the constitutional vision that these statements typically asserted—especially with regard to the so-called "unitary executive”—and with regard to their sheer volume, unmatched in the entire history of the executive. To understand the latter phenomenon, the Bush signing statements need to be understood not just as an expression of a constitutional philosophy, but also as an effort to institutionalize through faux law a highly presidential ethos as a fundamental element of the spirit with which the government conducts business.

State, Sovereignty, and the People: A Comparison of the “Rule of Law” in China and India

2009 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan K. Ocko ◽  
David Gilmartin
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Social Order ◽  
The Political ◽  
British India ◽  
Fourth Section ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
China And India ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of

This paper uses the concept of the “rule of law” to compare Qing China and British India. Rather than using the rule of law instrumentally, the paper embeds it in the histories of state power and sovereignty in China and India. Three themes, all framed by the rule of law and the rule of man as oppositional yet paradoxically intertwined notions, organize the paper's comparisons: the role of a discourse of law in simultaneously legitimizing and constraining the political authority of the state; the role of law and legal procedures in shaping and defining society; and the role of law in defining an economic and social order based on contract, property, and rights. A fourth section considers the implications of these findings for the historical trajectories of China and India in the twentieth century. Taking law as an instrument of power and an imagined realm that nonetheless also transcended power and operated outside its ambit, the paper seeks to broaden the history of the “rule of law” beyond Euro-America.

Animatio: a history of ideas on the beginning of personhood

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 355-364
Author(s):  
Michael Obladen
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
Degree Of Protection ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
Biological Reality ◽  
Fetal Movements ◽  
History Of ◽  
Individual Human

Abstract The onset of individual human life has fascinated thinkers of all cultures and epochs, and the history of their ideas may enlighten an unsettled debate. Aristotle attributed three different souls to the subsequent developmental stages. The last, the rational soul, was associated with the formed fetus, and entailed fetal movements. With some modifications, the concept of delayed ensoulment – at 30, 42, 60, or 90 days after conception – was adopted by several Christian Church Fathers and remained valid throughout the Middle Ages. The concept of immediate ensoulment at fertilization originated in the 15th century and became Catholic dogma in 1869. During the Enlightenment, philosophers began to replace the rational soul with the term personhood, basing the latter on self-consciousness. Biological reality suggests that personhood accrues slowly, not at a specific date during gestation. Requirements for personhood are present in the embryo, but not in the preembryo before implantation: anatomic substrate; no more totipotent cells; decreased rate of spontaneous loss. However, biological facts alone cannot determine the embryo’s moral status. Societies must negotiate and decide the degree of protection of unborn humans. In the 21st century, fertilization, implantation, extrauterine viability and birth have become the most widely accepted landmarks of change in ontological status.

MEDIJI I NjIHOV UTICAJ NA IZBORE

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ružica Kijevčanin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Central Question ◽  
Citizenship Rights ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Election Process ◽  
Protection Mechanisms ◽  
The Media ◽  
Direct Elections ◽  
Technology Trends

The aspiration of every modern state is to establish the rule of law, which incorporates the basic principles on which a free, open and prosperous society should lie. Some of these principles are civil democracy and secret and direct elections. The legal conduct of elections is the basic way to achieve peace and satisfaction among the population, because it puts the exercise of power and the regulation of issues of essential importance under their control. With the development of technology, trends, but also everyday life are changing, so, in addition to elections, the media are synonymous with freedom and citizenship rights. The media are a means of information that introduces citizens to information of various contents, and above all fundamental. Depending on the norm, level of development, protection mechanisms, the media conscientiously perform their function, or do not do it completely. What are the consequences when reporting on a specific phenomenon that is the basis of a healthy society in the first or second case is a central question that we will analyze in this paper. The importance of elections has been continuously confirmed throughout history, while the necessity of the media has been expanding for decades, in the intensity that elevates them to the top and equates them with the election process.

4. The Rule of Law

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Webley ◽  
Harriet Samuels
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Antisocial Behaviour ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
History Of ◽  
Human Rights Act ◽  
Human Rights Act 1998 ◽  
Complete Series ◽  
Explanatory Text ◽  
The Uk

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. This chapter explains the meaning and significance of the rule of law, briefly tracing the history of the rule of law and considering the main similarities and differences between various theories of the rule of law. It then assesses the impact of recent legal reforms on the operations of the rule of law in the UK. These reforms include the introduction of antisocial behaviour orders; the extension of detention without trial; and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which reinforces the importance of the independence of the judiciary and puts measures in place to attempt to strengthen the separation of the courts from the other arms of the state. Finally, the chapter discusses judicial interpretation of the rule of law through a selection of cases that have examined the legality, irrationality, or procedural impropriety of the actions of the executive or public bodies, and whether their actions conform to the Human Rights Act 1998.

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