Rule by law

Definition

Rule by law is a governance principle where all members of a society, including its leaders, are equally subject to publicly disclosed legal codes and processes. It emphasizes that laws should govern a nation as opposed to arbitrary decisions by individual government officials.

Related terms

Judiciary: The system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state.

Constitution: A set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed.

Due process: The legal requirement that the state must respect all legal rights that are owed to a person, balancing the power of law of the land and protecting the individual person from it