The rule of law may be described as inherent institutional morality. It stems from the desire
to prevent anarchy and limit the abuse of power. The primary role of the rule of law
doctrine is to provide procedures to be followed by government bodies when individual
rights are limited. In this regard the rule of law may also be equated to the principle of
legality which requires that in addition to legal authority for state action, that the law in
terms of which state acts must be general, prospective and clear and relatively stable.
However, the principle of legality does not directly address the substantive content of
most laws or their human rights .In his work Introduction to the Study of the Law of the
Constitution in 1885, AV Dicey used the term “rule of law” to entail the following.
Dicey’s formulation of the rule of law has been rephrased by, amongst others, Mathews,
who holds:
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