ORIGIN AND CONCEPT OF RULE OF LAW Pranav Kaushal BASICS OF LAW Mon, Jul 01, 2019, at ,11:40 AM The concept of “Rule of Law” has been considered as the building block of the modern democratic society. For the proper functioning of the polity, it is essential that there should be proper enforcement of the law. Laws are enacted for the welfare of the people and to maintain harmony and preserve peace in the society. One of the foremost and prime purposes of the law is to maintain law and order in the society and to develop a kind of environment by which each and every individual can develop themselves to the fullest extent. Thus in this way “Rule of law” plays a very important role in a democratic society. The term rule of law has been derived from the French word “La Principle de Legality” which in simple terms refers to the government based on the principles of law. In a wider sense rule of law states that law is supreme and no one is above law. No individual or person whether rich or poor are above law, in the strict sense the term rule of law means that government has to exercise the authority in accordance with the provision of law which has been made by the legislature. The principle of rule of law aims to protect and safeguard the citizens and the individuals from the arbitrary actions of the government. The concept of rule of law is of very old origin. By the end of the 13th Century judge Bracton during the reign of Henry III introduced the concept of rule of law without naming it to be as “Rule of Law”. But it was Edward Coke who is considered to be the originator of the concept of Rule of law. Edward coke provided the concept that law is the King of Kings. By this statement, Edward Coke means to state that the concept of law is most powerful and higher than the kings and there is nothing which is beyond the law. Professor A.V Dicey in his book, “INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF LAW AND CONSTITUTION” which was published in the year 1885 tried to develop the concept of rule of law. As per Dicey’s Concept, “No man is punishable or lawfully can be made to suffer in body or goods except for distinct breach of law established in the ordinary legal manner before the ordinary courts of the land. This establishes that Law is supreme and no one is above and beyond law and excludes all kinds of arbitrariness in any form. DICEY CONCEPT OF LAW IS BASED ON THREE PRINCIPLES A.V. Dicey Concept of Rule of law is based on three important principles mentioned below. 1. Supremacy of law: As per Dicey’s concept rule of law means the ultimate supremacy of law and the absence of arbitrary powers. No man is punishable or can lawfully be made to suffer in body or goods except for a distinct breach of law established in the ordinary legal manner before the courts. Dicey was of the opinion that no man can be punished for anything else than a breach of the law which is already established and the alleged offence is required to be proved before the ordinary courts in accordance with the ordinary procedure. 2. Equality before Law: As per Dicey rule of law, the second principle means the equality before the law or equal subjection of all classes to the ordinary law of the land which must be administered by the ordinary law courts. This principle states that no man is above law. 3. Predominance of Legal Spirit: As per Dicey’s Concept rights such as the right to personal liberty, fundamental rights, etc. are to be provided by the constitution of a country. CONCLUSION In developing democratic countries, the Judiciary has to play an important role if the law has to keep pace with social needs. Such an approach is very pertinent in the field of legislation and subordinate legislation. Law is not static, but dynamic and therefore the norms to control it cannot be static. The role of judiciary with the advancement in the thought process of a human being had shifted its traditional role to more participatory one to cater to the changing needs of the society. Apart from the basic role, the judiciary is also concerned with the function of acting as a final interpreter of the Constitution and other organic laws, protector of Fundamental rights of the citizens and guardian to keep necessary checks upon the constitutional transgressions by other organs of the state. “All the rights secured to the citizens under the Constitution are worth nothing, and a mere bubble, except guaranteed to them by the ‘Rule of Law’ and an independent and virtuous Judiciary.”-Andrew Jackson.