Rule of Law and Human Rights

Running head: LAW
Rule of Law and Human Rights

LAW 2
Table of Contents
Part A...........................................................................................................................................................2
Rule of Law..............................................................................................................................................2
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Features of Rule of Law:..............................................................................................................................2
History of Rule of Law..................................................................................................................................4
Values underlying the Rule of Law..............................................................................................................6
Part B...........................................................................................................................................................8
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................8
Protection of Human Rights through Human Rights Act.............................................................................8
Main Features of the HRA...........................................................................................................................8
Impact of the Human Rights Act................................................................................................................10
Judicial Review of Primary Legislation.......................................................................................................11
The extent of Human Rights......................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................12
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................................13
Primary Sources.....................................................................................................................................13
Secondary Sources.................................................................................................................................13

LAW 3
Part A
Rule of Law
Introduction
‘The rule of law’ is the supreme law in the United Kingdom and considered to supersede other
laws in the jurisdiction system. It is found that every Individual is expected to obey the
fundamental doctrine. Unlike USA, China and other countries, the United Kingdom doesn't have
a written constitution. The United Kingdom runs as per the Rule of law, Parliamentary
Sovereignty, and court rulings. In other words, Government officials and citizens are bound by
the law.
The key idea of the rule of law is to ensure that the law should apply equally to all. The
people of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are covered by it. But any law can't
bind the peoples in such a manner for example, requirements which needed to be complied with
and if the laws are not generally and impossible to comply with then there is no mechanism to
enforce the law when its breached. To sum up, the Rule of law is anything but over and above
all.
Features of Rule of Law:
1. No one is above the law
As the name suggests, it is found that everyone is bound to follow the law, and its apply to all
the government officials, citizens of the country, ministers as well as other members of the
society in equal basis. The motive of this fundamental law is considering that being public
officials, they will be bound by their designation and shall use their powers within their limits.
The law is well supported by administrative law and practice of judicial review.
However, there are some concerns which have been expressed with respect to the applicability of
the rule of law in this case:

LAW 4
 It is found that powers of the authority appointed and democracy authority is lied in
Royal prerogative, which is not subject to judicial oversight;
 As parliament is sovereign, it can make, unmake and amend any law it wishes;1.
2. Equality before law
The main aim of the law is to treat all its citizens equal, no matter what. All citizens shall
have the same legal rights irrespective of their race, color, creed, wealth, sex, etc.
However, there are some concerns which have been expressed with respect to the applicability of
the rule of law in this case:
 The fees charged by the big lawyers are huge and the middle-class public can’t afford
such at any cost and only rich class can afford such. Therefore beating the purpose of
equality;
 Sometimes it may also happen Judges may also be biased against certain communities or
a certain section of public2.
3. Infringement of Rights
The purpose of the law is to protect the people's right from infringement. Citizens should
be able to protect themselves through the use of the law. Law should be able to defend
fundamental human rights at all cost.
However, there are some concerns which have been expressed with respect to the applicability of
the rule of law in this case:
 In the United Kingdom there is no such bill which can protect fundamental human rights;
 Also, The Human Rights Act can be set aside as per the wishes and needs of the
Parliament;
1 'The Rule Of Law | Lexisnexis' (Lexisnexis.co.uk, 2019) <http://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/en-uk/about-us/rule-of-
law.page> accessed 23 April 2019
2 Ben, Hannah Christman, Russell, 'Readjusting The Political Thermostat: Fuel Poverty And Human Rights In The
UK' (2016) 2 Journal of Human Rights in the Commonwealth.