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The Rule of Law in Contemporary Liberal Theory *
Author(s) -
WALDRON JEREMY
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
ratio juris
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.344
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 1467-9337
pISSN - 0952-1917
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9337.1989.tb00028.x
Subject(s) - principle of legality , rule of law , law , ideal (ethics) , autonomy , predictability , value (mathematics) , philosophy of law , law and economics , sociology , political science , public law , politics , mathematics , statistics
. Existing accounts of the Rule of Law are inadequate and require fleshing out. The main value of the ideal of rule of law for liberal political theory lies in the notion of predictability, which is essential to individual autonomy. The author examines this connection and argues that conservative theories of rule of law claim too much. Liberal theory equates the rule of law with legality, which is only one of the elements necessary for a just social order.