Comprehension 04, The Rule of Law and the Powerful

Passage (authored)

The true test of the rule of law is not how a state treats the ordinary citizen, who has little choice but to obey, but how it treats the powerful, who can often choose not to. A law that binds the weak and bends for the strong is not the rule of law at all; it is merely the rule of the strong, dressed in the language of law to make it respectable. Equality before the law means precisely that the official, the minister and the wealthy stand under the same rules as the labourer and the shopkeeper, and that the courts will hold them there. This is harder than it sounds, because the powerful command the resources to delay, to influence and to escape, and a system that lets them do so quietly teaches the rest of society a bitter lesson: that justice is a commodity, available to those who can afford it. The cost of that lesson is not paid in a single case but in the slow erosion of trust, until the citizen ceases to believe that the law is for everyone and begins to seek protection where he can find it, in caste, in connection, in the strongman who promises what the courts will not deliver. A state that wishes to be obeyed must first be seen to bind itself, for nothing breeds lawlessness faster than the visible impunity of those who make and enforce the laws.

Questions

1. According to the author, what is the true test of the rule of law?
2. Why does the author say that a law which bends for the strong is "the rule of the strong" rather than the rule of law?
3. What does the author mean by saying justice can become "a commodity"?
4. What does the author say happens to citizens' trust when the powerful escape the law, and where do they then seek protection?
5. Suggest a suitable title for the passage.

Model answers

1. The true test of the rule of law is how the state treats the powerful, who can often avoid obeying, rather than how it treats ordinary citizens, who have little choice but to obey. (Answer in your own words.)
2. A law that binds the weak but bends for the strong does not apply equally, so it is not law in the genuine sense; it merely uses legal language to dress up the will of the powerful and make their advantage look respectable.
3. The author means that when only those with money and influence can obtain justice, justice stops being a right available to all and becomes something bought and sold, available to whoever can afford to pay or to pull strings.
4. Citizens' trust in the law slowly erodes; they stop believing the law applies to everyone and begin to seek protection elsewhere, in caste, in personal connections, or in a strongman who promises the protection the courts fail to deliver.
5. A suitable title: "The Rule of Law Is Tested by the Powerful" or "Equality Before the Law".

Why these answers score

• The answers paraphrase rather than copy, and question 3 explains the metaphor of justice as a commodity.
• Question 4 reports both consequences asked for: the erosion of trust and where people turn instead.
• The title names the central idea (the powerful are the real test) rather than a detail.