Rule of Law

Introduction

The term “Rule of Law” is often used by politicians, economists, policy-makers, and lawyers to distinguish a particular type of “legal-political regime.” In the light of the process of the increased rate of the globalization in the past two decades, a wealthy amount of developing countries prefers their “policy agendas” to be promoted in accordance to the “rule of law.” From this perspective, it is very important to understand the clear concept of the “rule of law,” as well as how it is associated with the concept of the state development. According to Yu and Guernsey (2009), “The rule of law does not have a precise definition, and its meaning can vary between different nations and legal traditions. Generally, however, it can be understood as a legal-political regime under which the law restrains the government by promoting certain liberties and creating order and predictability regarding how a country functions. In the most basic sense, the rule of law is a system that attempts to protect the rights of citizens from arbitrary and abusive use of government power” (p. 1). This paper aims to discuss whether the rule of law protects the liberty of people. It will discuss the rule of law in association with the rise and fall of the police legitimacy as well as the Internet piracy: the file sharing.