LexisNexis Global

Today is Independence Day in the United States – the day Americans celebrate the birth

of their country – a country that grew and progressed over 232 years and became a powerful world leader.

 

I’d like to use my time today to look past the birth of the Rule of Law, look past its

growth and progression, to a time when the Rule of Law benefits all mankind.

 

Many of us in this room have worked to spread the Rule of Law to places where it is

weak or non-existent by reciting both the economic and personal benefits associated with a strong Rule of Law. Now we must build on our success. There are many places on earth where we’ll meet fierce resistance if we try and develop the Rule of Law the way we always have. This resistance exists in all countries – including the United States.

 

Our next step involves promoting a Rule of Law that may not look like a western system.

 

The Chinese have a neighborhood mediation system that combines a modern legal system

with moral governance. This moral governance dates back to Confucius who said, “Lead the people with governmental measures and regulate them by law and punishment, and they will avoid wrongdoing but will have no sense of honor or shame. Lead them with virtue and regulate them by the rules of propriety and they have a sense of honor, shame, and moreover, set themselves right.”

 

The Maasai are an indigenous group in Africa. The society is patriarchal, and elder men

decide most major matters for the group. Oral laws passed down from generation to generation govern most aspects of behavior, and payment in cattle will normally settle any matter.

 

Chinese neighborhood mediation without additional oversight from the Central

Government and the Maasai’s oral laws without gender bias can both be the basis for the Rule of Law.

 

My good friend Ben Civiletti is a former U.S. Attorney General. Ben likes to say that the

Rule of Law is a product, the application of a process, and the process is made up of specific universal principles.

 

Yesterday we talked about these universal principals and hopefully brought further clarity

to some very fundamental concepts:

1. The government and its officials are accountable under the law.

2. Laws are clear, publicized, stable, fair and accessible to all.

3. The process for enacting, administering and enforcing the laws is fair and

efficient for all.

4. Judges, attorneys, and law enforcement officials are independent and apply the law ethically and fairly to all.

 

We can help societies establish a Rule of Law that fits local cultures and histories if we

focus on these universal principles and public/private partnerships.

 

The days of a government being able to do everything for its citizens are long gone.

Today, even a government’s military strength depends on supplies and support from the private

sector.