rule of law

A.V. Dicey (1885) gave the classic account in three parts: supremacy of regular law as opposed to arbitrary power, so no one is punished except for a distinct breach of law proved in ordinary courts; equality before the law, so officials are subject to ordinary law and ordinary courts; and the idea that the constitution results from the ordinary law of the land as declared by courts. His third limb fits a country with no written constitution; India has one.

In India the rule of law is part of the basic structure. It appears in Article 14, judicial review, independence of the judiciary and the requirement that executive action have legal authority. Dicey's dislike of droit administratif is now seen as overstated, since administrative law can itself secure legality. The dissent of Khanna J. in ADM Jabalpur is the leading Indian statement of the rule of law.

Example

Detaining a person without any legal authority offends the rule of law, as Khanna J. explained in his ADM Jabalpur dissent.

In Indian law

• Article 14, Constitution of India
• ADM Jabalpur v. S.S. Shukla, 1976 INSC 129 (Khanna J. dissenting)

See also

equality before law · basic structure doctrine · droit administratif · separation of powers

Read more in the study notes

• Rule of law and droit administratif (Administrative Law)
• Administrative law: meaning, nature, scope, growth and sources (Administrative Law)
• Separation of powers and its bearing on administrative law (Administrative Law)
• Dying declarations (section 26(a)) (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam)
• Accomplice, approver and corroboration (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam)
• Appeals: first appeals, second appeals, appeals from orders and appeals to the Supreme Court (Civil Procedure Code and Limitation Act)