ABSTRACT
The rule of law has become synonymous with principles of democracy, equality, freedom, good governance and other elements of a civilised society, which are generally agreed to be beneficial to mankind. Similarly, the United Nations (UN) may conjure up images for many of a utopian ideal that values strength in diversity and leads the way in impartiality of procedure and composition. The focus of the UN, as well as other international organisations and governments, has shifted increasingly towards the establishment of the rule of law. Since 2004, the rule of law has increasingly featured on the agenda of the Security Council itself and held numerous thematic debates on the subject; yet it was only recently that the UN began looking internally when discussing the rule of law and even more recently that any action was taken in moving the UN towards compliance with a rule of law.
