The Rule of Law: At the Service of Fundamental Rights?

Abstract

This article seeks to demonstrate that the desiderata of the rule of law proposed by Lon Fuller promote the protection of fundamental rights. This is because those standards, when sufficiently implemented by the ruler, necessarily restrict the ability of government–be it dictatorial, totalitarian or democratic–to infringe rights. In this context, the author also points out that the desiderata of the rule of law are not only at the service of formal purposes, such as to improve the efficacy of the legal system, but also they allow people to exercise their freedom meaningfully. In doing so, the rule of law recognizes the dignity of the person, which is the ultimate foundation of rights.