Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to the Philosophy of Law
- Cambridge Companions to Law
- The Cambridge Companion to the Philosophy of Law
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I General Theory
- Part II Values
- 6 The Rule of Law
- 7 Justice without Ethics: A Twentieth-Century Innovation?
- 8 Rights and Human Rights
- 9 Equality and Discrimination
- 10 Authority and Legitimacy
- 11 The Ends and Limits of Law
- Part III Special Theory
- Index
6 - The Rule of Law
from Part II - Values
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 June 2020
- The Cambridge Companion to the Philosophy of Law
- Cambridge Companions to Law
- The Cambridge Companion to the Philosophy of Law
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I General Theory
- Part II Values
- 6 The Rule of Law
- 7 Justice without Ethics: A Twentieth-Century Innovation?
- 8 Rights and Human Rights
- 9 Equality and Discrimination
- 10 Authority and Legitimacy
- 11 The Ends and Limits of Law
- Part III Special Theory
- Index
Summary
An ideal called ‘the rule of law’ has won praise since ancient times from a diverse band of enthusiasts ranging from Aristotle and John Locke to the former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. This apparent consensus, one that impressively bridges temporal, cultural and ideological divides, partly reflects the obvious fact that the phrase ‘the rule of law’ means different things to different people.1 One can, without linguistic impropriety, use this expression to refer to a number of significant though distinct ideas, or indeed to no clear idea whatsoever. To make progress, we must disentangle some of these ideas before trying to identify and elaborate the most compelling or fruitful version(s) of the rule of law.
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- The Cambridge Companion to the Philosophy of Law , pp. 117 - 134Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
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