Rule of law in the United States

This means that everyone has to obey the law; that no-one, no matter how important or powerful, is above the law. This means that the law applies not only to citizens but also to organisations and to people in government. Another aspect of the rule of law is that no-one is allowed to exercise powers except those powers given to them by law.

Many activities fall under the rubric “rule of law,” including legislation drafting, legal education
reform, work with judicial associations and training centers, human rights training for the police, and the development of commercial courts. The Department of State (State) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) jointly developed a definition for their justice-sector foreign assistance programs: “Rule of law is a principle under which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced, independently adjudicated, and consistent with international human rights principles”. This is the standard definition used within the current framework for U.S. foreign assistance. Activities that focus on peace and security projects, such as counternarcotics and transnational crimes, are not included in this definition, even if they include training judges, lawyers, and prosecutors.

This common vocabulary enables the staff of government agencies and other organizations
to better coordinate their rule of law program development.

Rule of Law

United States Constitution

According to the Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, the rule of law is the general principle that government and the governed alike are subject to law, as regularly adopted and applied. The principle is nowhere express in the United States Constitution, but it is a concept of basic importance in Anglo-American constitutional law.

Principal U.S. Government Agencies Supporting International Rule of Law Reform

As the scope of activities that constitute rule of law programming has expanded, so too has
the number of organizations supporting these programs. USAID and the Departments of
State, Justice, and Commerce are the main government entities working on international
rule of law initiatives. Other executive agencies have divisions that are involved in more modest projects abroad (e.g., the Environmental Projection Agency). This entry covering Principal U.S. Government Agencies Supporting International Rule of Law Reform focuses on the major funders and implementers.

Resources

See Also

• Judicial Review
• Discretion in Decision Making
• Due Process of Law;
• Jurisprudence
• Moral Law
• Nuremberg Trials
• Rule in Shelley’s Case
• Stare Decisis
• Due Process

Further Reading (Books)

Belton, Rachel K. 2005. Competing Definitions of the Rule of Law: Implications for Practitioners. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Democracy and Rule of Law Project. Carnegie Papers, Rule of Law series, no. 55. http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/CP55.Belton.FINAL.pdf.

Cass, Ronald. 2001. The Rule of Law in America. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 1780. http://www.mass.gov/legis/const.htm.

Dicey, Albert Venn. [1895] 1982. Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund.

Oakeshott, Michael. 1983. On History and Other Essays. New York: Barnes and Noble.

Scalia, Antonin. 1989. The Rule of Law as a Law of Rules. University of Chicago Law Review 56: 1175_1188.

Shklar, Judith N. 1998. Political Thought and Political Thinkers. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

Tamanaha, Brian Z. The Rule of Law for Everyone? St. John’s Legal Studies Research Paper. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=312622.

Michael I. Krauss

Further Reading (Articles)

Supreme Court wants DNA rule, law compared., Florida Bar News; July 1, 2001; Blankenship, Gary

City Ready to Fight Home Rule Law ; Councilman Plans to Test Constitutionality of Legislation Linking Law to Charleston Gun Rules, Charleston Daily Mail; April 15, 2013; Harold, Zack

Make Roadless Rule Law, The Register Guard (Eugene, OR); August 7, 2009

Home Rule Law a ‘Mess,’ State Senate Leader Says, The Charleston Gazette (Charleston, WV); January 9, 2014; Molenda, Rachel

Intellectual Property Alert: United States District Court For The District Of Massachusetts Adopts New Patent Rule.(Law overview), Mondaq Business Briefing; February 6, 2009; Levin, Mintz

Blair’s Mentor Stands Accused of Laying Down Home Rule Law, Daily Mail (London); July 9, 1997; Brogan, Benedict

SEN. KAHN: INSIDER TRADING RULES, LAWS SHOULD APPLY TO CONGRESS., States News Service; November 30, 2011

Rules, Laws And Reality, The Washington Post; November 1, 2000; Kenneth Bredemeier

Army Guard Officer Helps Establish Rule Law in Iraq, National Guard; July 1, 2009; Lawrence, J P

Be Careful What You Wish For: A Canadian Perspective on Direct-to-Consumer Advertising And The ‘Learned Intermediary’ Rule.(law about the intimation of side effects of drugs by prescription drug manufacturers to physicians), Mondaq Business Briefing; September 7, 2004; Leon, Barry Tape, Cynthia

Judeo-Christian rules, laws, Intelligencer Journal Lancaster, PA; July 1, 2003

SEN. VOINOVICH TO MAKE CLEAN AIR INTERSTATE RULE LAW, US Fed News Service, Including US State News; September 11, 2008

Rattled by Turmoil, Saudi Tightens Rules; Laws Are Changed in the Hope That Dissent Won’t Spill over to Neighbours, Write Sami Aboudi and Angus McDowall, The Star (South Africa); April 22, 2014

`Oriental’ banned from rules, laws and officialdom in Washington state.(The Seattle Times), Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service; July 3, 2002; Fryer, Alex

Now Ministers Rule out Laws to Control Press, Daily Mail (London); January 17, 2012

Gingrich Faces New Ethics Charges; GOP Whip Accused of Breaking House Rules, Laws on Use of Funds, The Washington Post; October 26, 1989; Tom Kenworthy

REPEAL OF HOME RULE LAW IS NEEDED, The Buffalo News (Buffalo, NY); August 2, 2003

Dingell Cosponsors Legislation to Make the “Buffett Rule” Law, States News Service; April 16, 2012

GOP DOWNPLAYS READING OF MEMOS `FACT SHEET’ ASSERTS NO RULES, LAWS BROKEN, The Boston Globe (Boston, MA); January 23, 2004; Charlie Savage, Globe Staff

Americans figuring out rules, laws and etiquette for cell phones.(Knight Ridder Newspapers), Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service; February 16, 2001; Moylan, Martin J.