The Rule of Law Spirit  

 

The Rule of Law is not just about enacting laws and setting up a legal system, because all legal institutions must be operated by people and their operation will also affect all people in the society. The Rule of Law includes also a set of beliefs, values and attitudes embraced by all legislators, law enforcement officers, judges and citizens under the governance of the laws. This is the Rule of Law spirit or the Rule of Law culture.

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The Rule of Law spirit is about how people see the ultimate goal of the law in the society and the reason for people to voluntarily comply with the law. The Rule of Law spirit expects not only that government officials and citizens are willing to abide by the law to ensure the maintenance of public order. Citizens should adopt a critical attitude to the powers of the government and support the use of different limitation mechanisms to constrain the powers of the government. In particular, judicial institutions can independently review the legality of the actions of the government. Citizens also recognize the importance of pursuing justice through law, including the protection of procedural justice, civil rights, political rights, social justice and civic engagement.