The Value Of The Rule Of Law - The Unity Of Reality And Reality

As a classical concept in the history of Law, “The rule of law” has various kinds of meanings. This concept not only attracts attention from academic circles, but also is always under debate. Even though the West which has a long-standing tradition of Law,they can not conclude generally recognized definition about “the Rule of Law”. The controversy is largely caused by the value of this concept. This concept has different values to different subjects. For individuals, the rule of law can protect the rights of individuals by giving limits to the actions or activities of other individuals, other groups and even the government. For society, rule of law is an important barrier to maintain the stability and order of the society. For governments, on the one hand it can limit the conduct of governments, which allow the Government to become a limited government so that it will only take control of its power, on the other hand the Government have to take responsibility they should. As a result, the government can balance the positive value and negative value, improve their credibility and win the trust of people and society. Various values are not always in harmony. On the contrary, they conflict with each other from time to time.While different people have different understanding about “the Rule of Law”, in this paper I will try to discuss the values from two angles: being and ought-to-be. From the perspective of being, the value appears as formal value. From the perspective of ought-to-be, the value appears as substantial value. Formal value and substantial value are not in opposition but different aspects of a whole. In chapter one, I will trace the origin of formal values and substantial values. “Rule of Good Law”, which is put forward by Aristotle, not only distinguishes between real law and ideal law, but also combines being and ought-to-be. Although real law has the form of law, it might become a tool for the ruler to expand his power for the reason that it doesn’t seek for justice. However, ideal law is the law of justice. It is both the goal of our process of law and an important criterion to judge the real law. In chapter two, this paper will put its eye on the dispute of formal value and substantial value caused by being and ought-to-be. Natural law school hold the view that the rule of law should have a moral dimension, and its value lies in the protection of individual liberties, justice, equality and justice. On the other hand, substantive law school excludes the moral value of “Rule of Law” in order to highlight the certainty of law. In chapter three, this paper will try to explain substantial value of “Rule of Law”. The law is a bridge to tie government power and individual rights. The value is not only to limit the value of public power to protect individual freedom and rights, but also to prompt the government to shoulder their responsibilities. In chapter four, I will try to give an explanation of formal value. This article will try to make a concrete analysis by exploring the principle of formal value. Through the discussion, this article will get the conclusion that although formal value and substantial value are a whole, sometimes they will conflict with each other. So what shall we do when they are in conflict? It depends on the reality.