SS1 Third Term Government Lesson Note – Basic Principles of Government: Rule of Law

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WEEK 2

TOPIC: BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT (1) RULE OF LAW

CONTENT:  

(A) Basic Interpretation.

(i) Equality Before the Law.  (ii) Supremacy of Regular Law.  (iii) Rights to Personal Liberty.

(B) Problems of Application: Fundamental Human Rights.

(i) Social (ii) Political (iii) Economic (d) Access to Information

(C) Means of safeguarding fundamental Human Rights

(D) Limitations of Fundamental Human Rights.

Sub – Topic 1: Basic Interpretation

Rule of Law is the absolute supremacy or predominance of the law over everybody – both rulers and the ruled and all decisions taken in a country.

According to professor A.V. Dicey (a Briton), a professor of English law who developed and popularize the phrase “Rule of Law” in his book titled “introduction to the Law of the Constitution” published in 1885, “those entrusted with the administration of a country should rule or exercise their authority in accordance with the established law of the land and such established law should be regarded as supreme”. The phrase has other phrases like “that no citizen can be punished except as prescribed by the law; which means that no one can be punished without trial. That the law must be known to all citizens.

In other words, the rule of law emphasizes the supremacy of the law over individuals and government, it guarantees peoples liberty and equality of all individuals before the laws of the land. The major aim of the rule of law is to ensure that government rule in accordance with the laws of the land.

The Main Principles and Features of The Rule of Law.

1. Supremacy of the law: It means that the law of a state is supreme or higher than anybody in the state. A citizen is deemed innocent until proved guilty by the law court. Anybody who is arbitrarily arrested and detained for more than twenty-four hours can apply to the law court for a writ of habeas corpus.
2. Equality before the Law: It means that nobody is above the law. The law is no respecter of persons irrespective of the position. In Dicey’s views, all men are equal before the laws of the land. All citizens of a country should enjoy equal access to law facilities, equal right to fair hearing, legal advice in the court of law. This principle assumes the notion of legality, which means due process of law in dealing with offenders.

iii. The Rights of the individual: This principle states that citizens of a country should enjoy certain basic inalienable rights and liberties under the law, violation of which they have the right

OTHER PRINCIPLES AND FEATURES OF THE RULE OF LAW.

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