Do you live in a democratic legal
system? If so, democratic legal systems are underpinned by the Rule of Law. Its
aim is simple; to ensure that no one is above the law. This is vital to the
maintenance a legal system you trust and which is therefore enforceable. Many
renowned and respected philosophers have noted the importance of the Rule of
Law. For example Socrates, Plato and Aristotle all advocated for the respect
of the law whether in agreement with it or not and they believed that those in power
should be bound just as tightly by the law, and act only as guardians and only
where necessary. If the Rule of Law is respected as such, your democracy has a
sound foundation from which to flourish.
To help further familiarise you
with the concept of the Rule of Law here is an analogy the majority can relate
to. Do you remember the days when you were playing hide and seek in the park
with your friends and there was always that one kid who struggled to find a
suitable hiding spot? They would become frantic and look for someone to join. As Murphy’s Law would have it, it was always you they chose and as they
slipped into a crouch beside you, at the last second the seeker would turn and
the sudden movement would catch their eye. Thus *sigh*, your meticulously
located position would be surrendered by the kid who was an incompetent hider.
However, just because this kid wasn’t able to succeed by following the rules
does this mean he should be allowed to break them, for example, by trickily hiding outside
the agreed zone? Of course not, because that destroys the fairness of the game
and it gives this hider an unjust advantage. Similarly, if the seeker is struggling
to detect all the hiders should this enable them to bribe another player for a
hint? The ethical answer is no. Obviously, as children the rules are more
flexible but in logic the moment the rules are bent corruption has occurred and
the game is effectively ruined. It may even enter a state of anarchy. If we
apply the moral of this analogy to a democratic legal system we can see the
significance of the Rule of Law and if breached the consequences of corruption and possible anarchy.
Unsurprisingly, the Rule of Law holds
much in common with the truth. The truth can be discovered but it cannot be
created by an individual and this holds accurate for the Rule of Law also. An
individual cannot create their own rules, which they chose to live by based on
their belief that they are entitled to exception, because of their position as a
police officer or Member of Parliament for example. They can though, discover the
basis of the Rule of Law and accordingly be held accountable by its principles.
Identifying and disseminating the truth is an obligation which many argue
journalists are charged with and therefore they are often involved in the asserting
of the Rule of Law or in exposing legislation to the public.
This is transparency of the law and it is also a
key element in maintaining the Rule of Law. The necessity of providing
accessible legislation isn’t a modern day concept, as it was recognised over
2000 years ago by Han Fei Zi. Today though, it is just as important. This was
evident in 2005 with the proposed Australian Commonwealth anti-terrorist
legislation. It was introduced to Parliament without sufficient notice to
you, the general public, despite its intentions to noticeably alter the foundations
of Australia’s democracy and in particular to restrict your freedom of
speech. Fortunately, journalists
realised their role in publicising this legislation and highlighted the
proposed changes in articles in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Gold Coast
Bulletin and on the ABC News’s website, to name a few. Parliamentary officials were attempting to
avoid the rule of law by valuing their judgement on the changes for legislation
over yours and thus trying to make sure the legislation bypassed public opinion.
Nevertheless, it is not only journalists who are responsible for enforcing the Rule
of Law but also independent groups such as the Rule of Law Institute of Australia who are able to assess the actions of the executive, legislative and
judiciary and report any of their violations of the Rule of Law.
Ultimately, the Rule of Law
should be important to you because it is the underlying theory of democracy. It
is based on the notion of equality before the law and many philosophers support
this concept. However, for the Rule of Law to be successful the law must be
considerably transparent so that there is an ability for you, the public, to
hold those in power accountable. If there is a failure to meet the standards of
transparency required, journalists and independent groups alike are able to
assist you in the preservation of the Rule of Law, for the benefit of all of
society. Overall, it is up to you though to help ensure that your rights under
the Rule of Law are protected and it is your duty to the democracy to certify
that you never contravene the Rule of Law yourself, or you will be contributing to the demise of your society.
References:
LexisNexis, The Rule of Law (2012) <http://www.lexisnexis.com.au/en-au/about-us/rule-of-law.page>.
Michelle Sanson, Thalia Anthony and David Worswick, Connecting with law (Oxford University Press, 2nd ed, 2010).
Rule of Law Institute of Australia, Welcome to the Rule f Law Institute of Australia (2009) <http://www.ruleoflawaustralia.com.au/Home.aspx>.
