Why the Rule of Law?

The Thoughtful Student submitted an essay to us that they wish to have discussed with you all! Comment on this post with your thoughts :) The essay is below.

Why The Rule of Law?

By The Thoughtful Student

I feel like the concept of law is becoming lost in personal beliefs, in culture, emotion, passion, dreams, struggles, pain and the trials of everyday Life. We have been lured into thinking that any and every governmental system formed in this world is stacked against us as individuals driving a wedge between what the law is meant to be and how every day, you and me are targets of a corrupt, unjust and rigged system of rules.

Personally, I’m a critic of everything, from the government, to restaurants, to music to cartoons and I have my fair share of words of disapproval to give many institutions. But one thing I believe in, is the rule of law and the rule of law is the cornerstone, of any country, state or civilization and I believe that it is cardinal to the success of any nation that we understand why it should be upheld and protected for our benefit.

One of my favourite legal series of all time is “For the People”, an American TV drama that follows the jobs of assistant US attorneys and Federal public defenders and what I enjoy about this show is the fact that it shows both sides of the battle; on one hand prosecutors must ensure the law is not broken, and if they believe you have committed a crime as the law states, you should be found guilty, defenders on the other hand have the job of showing the jury (because in America most cases are decided by juries and not judges) that their client did not defy the law and should be found innocent. In the first episode a prosecutor is condemned for wanting 5 years’ imprisonment for a con-man and the defense attorney asks her to have mercy and compassion, which made me ask the question: Should what I personally believe is right or wrong be the law??

I may be babbling on about a topic few people understand so let me at least define what is meant by the law and the rule of law.

The law is a complex thing to define but here I am referring to the law simply as a set of rules recognized as commanding or forbidding certain actions which are intended to regulate the conduct of people within a state. The rule of law is basically the superiority of these rules over each and every one of us.

Now in returning to the question posed above, why should what I believe to be fair be the law? If I need money and I steal $100 from multi-billionare bill gates, is it wrong for me to be charged for theft? Or let’s say that I kill a killer, is it right for me to be found guilty of murder? I don’t know how you’d answer these questions but depending on your beliefs, how you were raised, your current circumstance in life, your answer may change. But the law won’t!

The rule of law is a vital component of our lives and everyday it must be upheld in that regard. If I ask you whether abortions should be illegal and give you the choice to decide, not everyone will give the same answer, but in a democratic society, we have been given the opportunity through elections to decide what the majority want. The nature of humans makes it impossible for everyone to be pleased but that’s why we have the law. A structure made by the people, for the people. The concept of rule of law is essential to any functioning well doing society because if every person was allowed to impose their beliefs on the rest of us, where would we be? We can debate endlessly about this but the point I’m trying to make is this; the reason I’m not allowed to come into your house and take your T.V. or the reason I can’t drive on any side of the road I choose is because through voting and putting people whose beliefs the majority of us stand by in law-making positions, we have made order and we like to look at the laws that fail and think all have failed, but we forget that the reason I can’t do the things I’ve mentioned above is because of the law and the fact that the rule of law has stopped me from e.g. taking your phone as my own or using your name to buy groceries on credit or sleeping in your home without permission. The rule of law is cardinal to a well-functioning society because the law is the law. It will never be about what I believe but about what the majority believe as represented in our laws. People want to blame the corruption of leaders as the reason the law does not work, but when you pay ZMW 100 to a cop to avoid paying a speeding fine of ZMW 3000, how is it not equally your fault that a child has died from a hit and run accident as it is that of the cop who allowed this reckless driver to stay on the road. There is a big difference between people failing the law and the law failing the people.

We have agreed to live in a society where the majority rule, and that means doing what the law of the majority says. If people don’t like the law, change it, vote, protest, speak out! Get enough people to believe in you so that what you believe becomes the law and for those who still don’t want to follow that, cool, no problem, but when you are caught, we the people have already decided what should be done to you, don’t be surprised when it happens. The rule of law matters!

Never stop learning – T.S