Rule of Law: An Unruly Horse? Some Reflections on its Application in India

It may not be possible to define Rule of Law with scientific precision but it cannot be dismissed as an elusive notion or as an unruly horse. Rule of Law is the heritage of all mankind because its underlying rationale is belief in the human rights and human dignity of all individuals everywhere in t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Round table (London) 2012-08, Vol.101 (4), p.331-339
Main Author: Sorabjee, Soli J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
arbitrariness
Belief & doubt
caprice
Constitutional Amendments
constitutional entrenchment
Democracy
Despotism
emergency
Equality
Federalism
Freedom
Freedoms
globalisation
Globalization
Human Dignity
Human Rights
India
Indian Constitution
Indira Gandhi
Law
Liberty
Rule of Law
Secularism
Supreme Court of India
Terrorism
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:It may not be possible to define Rule of Law with scientific precision but it cannot be dismissed as an elusive notion or as an unruly horse. Rule of Law is the heritage of all mankind because its underlying rationale is belief in the human rights and human dignity of all individuals everywhere in the world. It needs to be emphasised that there is nothing western or eastern or northern or southern about the concept of Rule of Law. It has a global reach and dimension. Rule of Law symbolises the quest of civilised democratic societies, be they eastern or western, to combine that degree of liberty without which law is tyranny with that degree of law without which liberty becomes licence. It is entrenched in India to the extent that the Rule of Law cannot be abolished even by a constitutional amendment.
ISSN:0035-8533
1474-029X
DOI:10.1080/00358533.2012.707514