The Rule of Law as the Rule of Persons

Bellamy, Richard

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The Rule of Law as the Rule of Persons

Richard Bellamy

University College London - Department of Political Science

March 15, 2010

The Rule of Law and the Separation of Powers, International Library of Essays in Law and Legal Theory - Second Series, Richard Bellamy, ed., pp. 11-61, Ashgate/Dartmouth, 2005

Abstract:
This chapter surveys the various accounts of the rule of law and argues that all succumb to the 'Hobbes challenge', whereby the law depends ultimately on the rule of persons. No qualities of law per se can guarantee that the law rather than persons rule. The features that have been standardly associated with the rule of law are but the product of a particular kind of rule by persons - that possessing the characteristics we link to democracy.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 31

Keywords: rule of law, rule of persons, democracy, separation of powers

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Date posted: March 21, 2010 ; Last revised: September 15, 2010

Suggested Citation

Bellamy, Richard, The Rule of Law as the Rule of Persons (March 15, 2010). The Rule of Law and the Separation of Powers, International Library of Essays in Law and Legal Theory - Second Series, Richard Bellamy, ed., pp. 11-61, Ashgate/Dartmouth, 2005. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1571504

Contact Information

Richard Bellamy (Contact Author)

University College London - Department of Political Science ( email )

Gower Street
London
United Kingdom
020 7679 4980 (Phone)
020 7679 4969 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/spp/people/richard-bellamy