SS1 Civic Education Lesson Note on Origin of Rule of Law

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TOPIC: REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

CONTENT

1. The meaning and origin of rule of law.
2. Rule of law and maximum liberty for its citizens.

SUB-TOPIC 1: THE MEANING AND ORIGIN OF THE RULE OF LAW.

The rule of law means that the action of government must be according to the laws of the land. Government must not act according to their own will or how they feel and must not misuse power. The doctrine of the rule of law was propounded by professor A.V.Dicey in his book titled “Introduction to the law of the constitution “which was published in 1885.

The rule of law is based on three principles viz:

1. The supremacy of the law: This means that the law is the highest authority in the land. It states that both the rulers and the ruled are under the law and the rulers must rule the people according to the law. Punishment for breaking the law must be given according to what the law says and nothing more or less. No one must be punished except the person has been found guilty by the law court. This is the principle of impartiality.
2. Equality before the law: This means that all persons are equal before the law of the land whether rich, poor, governor, president, military officer or no matter your position in the society. Everybody is subject to the law and treated equally.
3. Right to personal liberty: The rule of law protects and guarantees the right of an individual in society. Professor A.V. Dicey calls them the natural rights and gifts from God and they should be exercised by everybody within the limits of the law of that land or how the constitution of a country allows it. These rights include; right to life, speech, association, movement etc.

The benefits of the rule of law as against Arbitrary Rule are:

1. The rule of law ensures the independence of the judiciary.
2. It ensures the supremacy of the law above everybody, government and its agencies.
3. It gives all citizens equal protection before the law.
4. It ensures equality of all citizens before the law and does not offer any special protection to anybody.
5. It ensures that no man is punished or made to suffer unnecessarily until he is tried in the court and found guilty.
6. It eliminates the possibility of tyrants and dictators coming to power in the society.
7. It allows an accused person to choose lawyers to defend him, no matter how serious his offence is.
8. The rule of law protects and strengthens democracy, separation of powers and checks and balances.

Punishment for breaking the law includes:

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