Update
The Oxford Biblical Studies Online and Oxford Islamic Studies Online have retired. Content you previously purchased on Oxford Biblical Studies Online or Oxford Islamic Studies Online has now moved to Oxford Reference, Oxford Handbooks Online, Oxford Scholarship Online, or What Everyone Needs to Know®. For information on how to continue to view articles visit the subscriber services page.
Dismiss

Related Content

Related Overviews

separation of powers

Owen Dixon (1886—1972) judge in Australia

Chinese law

judicial review

See all related overviews in Oxford Reference »

 

More Like This

Show all results sharing this subject:

  • Law

GO

Show Summary Details

Overview

rule of law


Quick Reference

1 The supremacy of law.

2 A feature attributed to the UK constitution by Professor Dicey (Law of the Constitution, 1885). It embodied three concepts: the absolute predominance of regular law, so that the government has no arbitrary authority over the citizen; the equal subjection of all (including officials) to the ordinary law administered by the ordinary courts; and the fact that the citizen's personal freedoms are formulated and protected by the ordinary law rather than by abstract constitutional declarations.

Subjects: Law

Related content in Oxford Reference

Reference entries
rule of law
in A Dictionary of Law (7) Length: 83 words
rule of law
in A Dictionary of Law Enforcement Length: 86 words
rules of law (laws)
in Australian Law Dictionary Length: 51 words
Rule of law
in The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia Length: 2359 words

View all reference entries »

View all related items in Oxford Reference »

Search for: 'rule of law' in Oxford Reference »