03/03/2010 07:03:00 PM EST
The LexisNexis Corporate Rule of Law Page
The Rule of Law, in its most basic form, is the principle that no one is above
the law. The rule follows logically from the idea that truth, and therefore law,
is based upon fundamental principles which can be discovered, but which cannot
be created through an act of will.
The most important application of the
rule of law is the principle that governmental authority is legitimately
exercised only in accordance with written, publicly disclosed laws adopted and
enforced in accordance with established procedural steps that are referred to as
due process. The principle is intended to be a safeguard against arbitrary
governance, whether by a totalitarian leader or by mob rule. Thus, the rule of
law is hostile both to dictatorship and to anarchy.
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