{"id":84497,"date":"2024-01-10T12:00:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T01:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=84497"},"modified":"2024-01-10T11:56:15","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T00:56:15","slug":"the-rule-of-law-under-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-rule-of-law-under-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"The rule of law under fire"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The past year was an eventful one, to put it mildly. In fact, the world has endured so much war, disruption, tension and uncertainty that we\u2019re left to wonder whether the rules-based global order, which has guided international relations since World War II, will survive for much longer.<\/p>\n

The post-war international order isn\u2019t perfect, not least because it remains dominated by its leaders and architects: Europe and, especially, the United States. But one should not underestimate the value of a global system that both rests on and perpetuates liberal values, particularly the rule of law. And that system now appears to be in danger, as these values are attacked, undermined and eroded.<\/p>\n

According to the United Nations, the rule of law demands<\/a> that every person, institution and entity, \u2018including the state itself\u2019, is accountable to laws that are \u2018publicly promulgated, equally enforced\u2019, \u2018independently adjudicated\u2019 and \u2018consistent with international human rights norms and standards.\u2019 But three main forces are increasingly preventing this standard from being met.<\/p>\n

The first is rising authoritarianism. According to Freedom House\u2019s annual Freedom in the World survey, 73 countries\u2019 scores declined<\/a> in 2020, while just 28 countries\u2019 scores improved. This is hardly an anomalous development: countries with declining scores have outnumbered those with rising scores every year since 2005. And the erosion is evident worldwide, from Africa to Latin America to Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n

Even the European Union is not immune. Look no further than Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban\u2019s regime. After taking power in 2010 (for the second time), Orban proceeded to weaken the judiciary\u2014including by narrowing the constitutional court\u2019s jurisdiction<\/a> and politicising the selection of judges\u2014and redrawing<\/a> legislative districts to ensure the dominance of his Fidesz party.<\/p>\n

Orban made no secret of his intentions, proclaiming<\/a> in 2014 that he was building an \u2018illiberal state\u2019 in Europe. Four years later, in 2018, the European Parliament triggered Article 7 proceedings against Hungary\u2014which could lead to the suspension of some of a member state\u2019s rights\u2014over the alleged risk<\/a> of violations of the EU\u2019s founding values. While Hungary has since pursued corrective judicial reforms in order to unlock EU funds<\/a>, it has a long way to go to reverse its descent into illiberalism.<\/p>\n

But Orban is not alone. After taking power in 2015, Poland\u2019s right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party similarly introduced sweeping reforms aimed at weakening the judiciary, including by eroding the Constitutional Tribunal\u2019s independence. (That tribunal subsequently ruled that Polish law took precedence<\/a> over EU law.) This led the European Commission to initiate<\/a> Article 7 proceedings against Poland in 2017, alleging<\/a> that there was a \u2018clear risk of a serious breach\u2019 of the rule of law.<\/p>\n

The good news is that Polish voters recently voted PiS out of power<\/a>. The bad news is that Orban remains popular<\/a> in Hungary.<\/p>\n

Spain, too, is now flirting with \u2018illiberalism\u2019. In November, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reached an agreement<\/a> with the Catalonian independence party (Junts<\/em>) to extend amnesty to Catalan separatists\u2014a move he had previously called unconstitutional<\/a>\u2014<\/strong>in exchange for political support to keep his socialists in power. As part of the deal, parliamentary inquiry commissions<\/a> will be created to supervise judges\u2019 application of the amnesty law. Though this is supposedly intended to protect against so-called lawfare, it would be a clear breach<\/a> of the separation of powers.<\/p>\n

The second major force undermining the rule of law globally is theocracy. Most of the world\u2019s 49 Muslim-majority countries have embedded references to sharia\u2014a body of religious law based on Islamic scripture\u2014in their legal frameworks, with many prohibiting<\/a> the introduction of laws that are inconsistent with sharia.<\/p>\n

But sharia contradicts some of the basic rights enshrined in Western systems, from freedom of religion to non-discrimination on the basis of sex. More to the point, it does not regard all people as equal before the law. Women and men are regarded differently, as are believers and non-believers.<\/p>\n

The independent adjudication of laws is inherently incompatible with a system in which there\u2019s no separation between the judiciary and political and religious authorities. And the view of sharia as divinely revealed means that it can\u2019t be adapted to evolving standards regarding, say, human rights. Given all this, countries that embed sharia in their national legal frameworks are necessarily limited in their ability to adhere to\u2014and apply\u2014the rule of law.<\/p>\n

The third factor undermining the rule of law is distinctly Western: polarisation. A prime example is the US, where the constitutional right to free speech is under increasing pressure<\/a>, as certain hot-button issues\u2014such as climate change or immigration\u2014have been imbued with a moralistic Manichean quality that renders meaningful debate impossible.<\/p>\n

Of the core principles that have underpinned the international order for the past 75 years, the rule of law stands out as particularly important. There can be no democracy, human rights or international cooperation without it. If we allow it to deteriorate further\u2014not only in younger and weaker democracies but also in countries with deeply embedded liberal traditions\u2014the malaise of the post-war international order will surely deepen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The past year was an eventful one, to put it mildly. In fact, the world has endured so much war, disruption, tension and uncertainty that we\u2019re left to wonder whether the rules-based global order, which …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1658,"featured_media":84499,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[325,2310,249,1371,826,444],"class_list":["post-84497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-europe","tag-free-speech","tag-human-rights","tag-religion","tag-rule-of-law","tag-values"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe rule of law under fire | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-rule-of-law-under-fire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The rule of law under fire | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The past year was an eventful one, to put it mildly. 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