rule of law

noun

1. the principle that all people and institutions are subject to and accountable to law that is fairly applied and enforced; the principle of government by law.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rule of law¹

First recorded in 1500–10

Example Sentences

“He was not just an incomparable lawyer, mentor, role model, and friend, but he has made immeasurable contributions to the rule of law, our Constitution, and our country. We will miss him with all our hearts.”

From Los Angeles Times

A spokesman for Bahrain's government said it "firmly rejects these baseless claims which overlook the substantial progress the Kingdom has achieved in advancing individual rights and the rule of law".

From BBC

Other aspects include, once those leaders are given temporary powers to represent us—we hand over our sovereignty to them for a temporary period to represent us—they’re constrained by checks and balances, by the rule of law, and by the protection of individual rights in order to ensure that, at the end of the day, our granting to them of our sovereignty as “we, the people,” is temporary and we get to take it back at the end of their term in office.

From Slate

You’re seeing the cleaving off of the liberal part of liberal democracy, whereby if I win an election with the most votes, then all those other things, like checks and balances, the rule of law, the protection of individual rights—they don’t matter because I’ve been given a mandate to do away with all those other things.

From Slate

Earlier this month, it observed that demolishing properties merely because a person was accused of a crime was "simply unacceptable under rule of law".

From BBC