ABSTRACT
This chapter considers two concepts that are not always, or indeed usually, dealt with in English Legal System text books: the two inter re lated concepts are ‘the rule of law’ and ‘human rights’. However, it is the conten tion of the authors that ideas about the rule of law and human rights are, and always should have been, at the core of our under stand ing and assess ment of any, and certainly our own, legal system, and further that they are assum ing a more appar ent and increased cent ral ity and import ance in rela tion to its oper a tion and justi fic a tion. However, it has to be recog nised from the outset that any consid er a tion of the specific ideas inher ent in these general concepts cannot be approached satis fact or ily from the purely ‘black letter’ legal perspect ive, but must engage the student in a related consid er a tion of the socio-political context from which they derive and to which they relate and on which they operate. Further, the concepts them selves are fluid and, as will be seen, differ ent comment at ors have adopted widely varying approaches to them.
