Kedaulatan undang-undang

Kedaulatan undang-undang ialah prinsip perundangan yang menyatakan bahawa keseluruhan negara harus diperintah oleh undang-undang. Prinsip tersebut biasanya merujuk kepada pengaruh undang-undang kepada keseluruhan masyarakat, terutamanya para pemerintah pengatur perilaku, termasuk perilaku para pejabat pemerintah.The Oxford English Dictionary has defined "rule of law" this way:
The authority and influence of law in society, esp. when viewed as a constraint on individual and institutional behaviour; (hence) the principle whereby all members of a society (including those in government) are considered equally subject to publicly disclosed legal codes and processes. See “Civil Affairs and Rule of Law”, Dudley Knox Library, Naval Postgraduate School (accessed October 18, 2013) (quoting the OED).  The phrase "rule of law" is also sometimes used in other senses. See Garner, Bryan A. (Editor in Chief). Black's Law Dictionary, 9th Edition, p. 1448. (Thomson Reuters, 2009). ISBN 978-0-314-26578-4. The lead definition given by Black's is this: "A substantive legal principle", and the second definition is the "supremacy of regular as opposed to arbitrary power". Black's provides a total of five definitions of "rule of law".Hobson, Charles.  The Great Chief Justice: John Marshall and the Rule of Law, p. 57 (University Press of Kansas, 1996): according to John Marshall, "the framers of the Constitution contemplated that instrument as a rule for the government of courts, as well as of the legislature." Dalam hal ini, kedaulatan undang-undang adalah lawan kepada tirani atau oligarki, di mana para pemerintah berada di atas undang-undang. Istilah ini berasal dari budaya Inggeris pada abad ke-16, dan pada abad berikutnya, ahli teologi Scots Samuel Rutherford menggunakan istilah tersebut dalam hujah menentang hak ketuhanan raja.Rutherford, Samuel. Lex, rex: the law and the prince, a dispute for the just prerogative of king and people, containing the reasons and causes of the defensive wars of the kingdom of Scotland, and of their expedition for the ayd and help of their brethren of England, p. 237 (1644): "The prince remaineth, even being a prince, a social creature, a man, as well as a king; one who must buy, sell, promise, contract, dispose: ergo, he is not regula regulans, but under rule of law...."

Albert Venn Dicey dalam Introduction to the Law of the Constitution mengatakan bahawa kedaulatan undang-undang memiliki tiga unsur dasar:
 Supremasi aturan undang-undang: seseorang hanya boleh dihukum kalau melanggar undang-undang;
 Kedudukan yang sama di mata undang-undang, baik pemerintah mahupun rakyat jelata;
 Terjaminnya hak asasi manusia melalui undang-undang dan keputusan pengadilan.

Kedaulatan undang-undang dikira sebagai antara perkara kunci dalam menentukan kualiti dan darjat tadbir urus baik negara.Kaufman, Daniel et al. "Governance Matters VI: Governance Indicators for 1996–2006, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 4280" (July 2007). Kajian seperti Penunjuk Tadbir Urus Antarabangsa menetapkan kedaulatan undang-undang sebagai: "darjhat agen memiliki keyakinan dan menuruti peraturan masyarakat, khususnya kualiti penguatkuasaan kontrak, polis dan kehakiman serta kecenderungan jenayah atau keganasan."

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Kategori:Falsafah undang-undang
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Kategori:Istilah undang-undang