The Significance of The Authority of Law in Western Governments

A law can be defined as a system of rules that are “enforced to govern behavior”. Laws have been around for hundreds of years and without them the U.S and other countries would be chaotic. There are changes constantly being made to improve current laws and new laws beginning to surface. The rule of law plays an important role in western democracies. With that being said there are also parts of the world where rule of man is more evident than the rule of law.

Laws do not discriminate, meaning that whatever the law may be it applies to everyone. They must be clear and public to everyone. The rule of law states that laws must be enforced and fair, which are often times debatable. In order for these laws to be efficient justice must be served by a group of ethical individuals who are of good character. Lastly what people sometimes fail to realize is that laws must not only be followed by the civilians in that district but by government officials as well.

There are several factors that must be present for the law to be one hundred percent efficient. Along with hiring people of good character to serve justice we must make sure that this people are aware of ethics and practicing ethical behavior. This involves an absence of corruption. Officers should be required to complete training on ethics and encourage reporting any misconduct. Corruption is one of the hot topics surrounding media and police today.

Under the law it is imperative that civilians are aware of their rights. By not making a civilian aware of their rights at the time of arrest the whole case pretty much goes out the window. Miranda rights got its infamous name in the case Miranda vs. Arizona, where the rights were not read at the time of the arrest. Due to the fact that his rights were not read it was found that his constitutional rights were violated. Because of this it is one of the things that should not be forgotten about at the time of arrest and it is something that is practiced on a day to day basis.

Furthermore laws must be practiced frequently in order to be affective. Rules and regulations must be enforced regularly to maintain order and security within the society. Along with this if laws are violated, disciplinary actions must be followed in a timely fashion. These laws should be enforced evenly throughout the community. Laws must also be enforced fairly among civilians who seem to violate these rules.

Lastly justice must actually be served. This means that people within a community should have a relationship with officials where they feel safe and able to voice their opinions. If people feel safe to report crime it is less likely for crime rates to continue to increase. Not only that but people should feel that if they were to report a crime of issue, that it is handled in a timely fashion and actually gets resolved. Justice should be easily accessible.

The rule of law sets the foundation for western democracies. It sets specific parameters which help shape our society. Laws help to keep society in working order and provide us with guidelines and limits. Without laws, as stated above the society would most likely experience absolute chaos.

To say “nobody is above the law” means that even those who serve justice must abide by laws. People tend to think that police officers or government officials are able to have a free for all which is far from it. Sure, they have more leeway and inner connections within the system but they are bound by the law just like we regular civilians are. Although the rule of law is in place there are still countries that are ruled by man, or under one person. Countries ruled by man are United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Andorra, Barbados, and the list continues.

Throughout our lives laws will continue to evolve and change. Laws must be in place because it serves as a perimeter to what is and is not considered acceptable behavior in society. Laws that are violated are followed by proper disciplinary action which anyone is subject to. They keep our community in working order and maintain safety among civilians. Without laws society would be chaotic and issues would be difficult to resolve with no guidelines.