The rule of law When you can disobey a law? Explain Compliance with the law has always been assumed, so is there any circumstance in which it is permissible to violate the law? I believe that this is[.]
The rule of law: When you can disobey a law? Explain Compliance with the law has always been assumed, so is there any circumstance in which it is permissible to violate the law? I believe that this is a question that piques the interest of many people By addressing each of the following in turn—the rule of law and its core principles, when people can break the law, and some historical instances of people who disobeyed the law—I hope to be able to respond to the question posed above Dicey, a British constitutionalist, was the first to systematically introduce the term Rule of Law in his book Introduction to the Study of the Law of Constitution In order to direct and control a society's activities, the rule of law considers the law and the spirit of respecting the law to be fundamental components To put it another way, the Rule of Law compels everyone in society— including the government, all organizations, and private citizens—to coexist in a setting where the law is the standard Laws governed by the Rule of Law, on the other hand, must meet certain requirements and be preserved and guaranteed by political-legal and traditional institutions This is also what distinguishes Rule of Law from Rule by Law The Rule of Law is founded on three fundamental principles: First, and most importantly, equality before the law: no one is above the law; all people, regardless of status or condition, are subject to the law and subject to judicial review Second, the rule of law should be supreme: no one should be punished or subjected to bodily harm or benefit unless there is a clear violation of the law as determined by judicial proceedings Third, constitutional principles based on the Rule of Law are the result of human rights as formed through court case law (Luat Minh Khue, 2021) Today, the Rule of Law is recognized as a universal value in academic research and political-legal practice all over the world At the international level, the United Nations regards the Rule of Law as a universal principle of state and social governance that plays a critical role in international relations The European Parliament also considers the Rule of Law as a general principle for the organization and operation of the region's state apparatus So, when was law disobedience acceptable when following the law was considered common sense, of course, and applied to everyone? I believe that breaking the law is ethically defensible and reasonable when the law is being unfairly applied to those who it is supposed to protect To put it another way, if the law goes against the third principle mentioned above—respecting human rights and conscience—it is unconstitutional In many situations, violating the law is required because doing so ensures one's own or others' safety or welfare - when failing to so poses an immediate threat to one's or others' safety (Greenawalt, 1989) Furthermore, if everyone simply followed orders without question, there would undoubtedly not have been any new laws or necessary changes throughout history But, exactly, what are human rights? Human rights, according to the United Nations, are rights that are inherent in all humans, regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status Human rights include, among other things, the right to life and liberty, the freedom from slavery and torture, the freedom of thought and expression, the right to work and education, and many others Everyone, without exception, is entitled to these rights Many instances of people disobeying the laws that violated these human rights have occurred throughout history It's interesting to consider the specific instance of the American Revolution A group of people in this situation believed that their government was violating their rights as Englishmen Eventually, they rebelled against the laws they felt went against the moral standards of their society (Levy, n.d.) Although they broke the law, they may had done so in order to defend the rule of law from the abuses of an oppressive government Another example is that when slavery was still legal, slaves had no obligation to obey the "law." Despite being considered "criminals," those who ran the Underground Railroad in defiance of laws prohibiting fugitive slaves were heroes It is documented that in some areas, such as upstate New York and northern Ohio, the 1850 law was virtually unenforceable, as ordinary, usually lawabiding citizens chose to support human liberty and fundamental justice by participating in the Underground Railroad, even though US laws and the Constitution itself criminalized such activities (Finkelman, 2018) Or, perhaps more famously, the great leader Martin Luther King broke the law and changed the world Through his activism, he was instrumental in the repeal of legal segregation of African American citizens, as well as the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Among other honors, King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 (one.org, 2020) He made the claim that it is the responsibility of individuals to disobey unfair laws in his extremely well-known speech, "Letter From Birmingham Jail" (Love, 2022) To sum up, rules are undoubtedly established for our compliance, but as humans, we should be able to distinguish between right and wrong And when breaking the law is necessary for the right reason—even with severe repercussions—doing so may be acceptable if the circumstances and the objectives are taken into account References Finkelman, Paul “The Constitution and the Underground Railroad: How a System of Government Dedicated to Liberty Protected Slavery (U.S National Park Service).” Nps.gov, 2018, www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-constitution-and-the-undergroundrailroad.htm Accessed 18 Nov 2022 Greenawalt, Kent The Right to Disobey 1989, www.jstor.org/stable/1289279 Accessed 18 Nov 2022 Levy, Michael “American Revolution.” Encyclopædia Britannica, www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Morris-American-statesman Accessed 18 Nov 2022 Love, David A “MLK Disobeyed Unjust Laws The State of America Today Requires That We Not Forget That.” NBC News, NBC News, 17 Jan 2022, www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/mlk-disobeyed-unjust-laws-state-america-todayrequires-we-not-ncna1287569 Accessed 18 Nov 2022 Luat Minh Khue “Phap Quyen La Gi?” Công Ty Luật TNHH Minh Khuê, 2021, luatminhkhue.vn/phap-quyen-la-gi-moi-quan-he-giua-phap-quyen-va-quyen-lam-chucua-nhan-dan-o-viet-nam-hien-nay.aspx Accessed 18 Nov 2022 one.org “8 People Who Broke the Law to Change the World.” ONE, Mar 2020, www.one.org/us/blog/8-people-who-broke-the-law-to-change-the-world/ Accessed 18 Nov 2022 United Nations “Human Rights.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/en/globalissues/human-rights Accessed 18 Nov 2022 ...So, when was law disobedience acceptable when following the law was considered common sense, of course, and applied to everyone? I believe that breaking the law is ethically defensible... rebelled against the laws they felt went against the moral standards of their society (Levy, n.d.) Although they broke the law, they may had done so in order to defend the rule of law from the abuses... law was virtually unenforceable, as ordinary, usually lawabiding citizens chose to support human liberty and fundamental justice by participating in the Underground Railroad, even though US laws