Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to the Rule of Law
- Cambridge Companions to Law
- The Cambridge Companion to the Rule of Law
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Histories
- Part III Moralities
- 6 The Rule of Law as an Essentially Contested Concept
- 7 The Rule of Law in Montesquieu
- 8 The Spirit of Legality: A. V. Dicey and the Rule of Law
- 9 Michael Oakeshott’s Republican Theory of the Rule of Law
- 10 The Morality of the Rule of Law: Lon L. Fuller
- 11 E.P. Thompson and the Rule of Law: Qualifying the Unqualified Good
- 12 Functions of the Rule of Law
- 13 A Positive Theory of the Rule of Law
- Part IV Pathologies
- Part V Trajectories
- Part VI Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
12 - Functions of the Rule of Law
from Part III - Moralities
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 August 2021
Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to the Rule of Law
- Cambridge Companions to Law
- The Cambridge Companion to the Rule of Law
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Histories
- Part III Moralities
- 6 The Rule of Law as an Essentially Contested Concept
- 7 The Rule of Law in Montesquieu
- 8 The Spirit of Legality: A. V. Dicey and the Rule of Law
- 9 Michael Oakeshott’s Republican Theory of the Rule of Law
- 10 The Morality of the Rule of Law: Lon L. Fuller
- 11 E.P. Thompson and the Rule of Law: Qualifying the Unqualified Good
- 12 Functions of the Rule of Law
- 13 A Positive Theory of the Rule of Law
- Part IV Pathologies
- Part V Trajectories
- Part VI Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Theorists often begin with the elements or features of the rule of law, frequently distinguishing formal and substantive versions.1 Instead, I explore two other senses. The first sense is that the rule of law exists in a society when government officials and the populace are generally bound by and abide law. Framing the analysis in terms of a society subject to law enables a more expansive view of functions of the rule of law. The second sense construes “the rule of law” as an ideal and as rhetoric, asking what functions are served when people invoke it.
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- The Cambridge Companion to the Rule of Law , pp. 221 - 236Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
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