In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in concern for the rule of law. Not only have there been a multitude of articles and books on the essence, nature, scope and limitation of the law, but citizens, elected officials, law enforcement officers and the judiciary have all been actively engaged in this debate. Thus, the concept of the rule of law is as multifaceted and contested as it’s ever been, and this book explores the essence of that concept, including its core principles, its rules, and the necessity of defining, or even redefining, the basic concept.

Law, Liberty, and the Rule of Law offers timely and unique insights on numerous themes relevant to the rule of law. It discusses in detail the proper scope and limitations of adjudication and legislation, including the challenges not only of limiting legislative and executive power via judicial review but also of restraining active judicial lawmaking while simultaneously guaranteeing an independent judiciary interested in maintaining a balance of power. It also addresses the relationship not only between the rule of law, human rights and separation of powers but also the rule of law, constitutionalism and democracy.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: The Concept of the Rule of Law

Chapter 3: Plato and the Rule of Law

Chapter 4: Kantian Re-construction of lntersubjectivity Forms: The Logic of the Transition from Natural State to the Threshold of the Civic State

Chapter 5: Radbruch's Formula, Conceptual Analysis, and the Rule of Law

Chapter 6: Law, Liberty and the Rule of Law (in a Constitutional Democracy)

Chapter 7: The Rule of Law: Is the Line Between the Formal and the Moral Blurred?

Chapter 8: Political Deliberation and Constitutional Review

Chapter 9: The Rule of Law and Human Rights Judicial Review: Controversies and Alternatives

Chapter 10: The Rule of Law, Validity Criteria, and Judicial Supremacy

Chapter 11: Retroactive Application of Laws and the Rule of Law