The constitutional principle that government must act under law, and the doctrines through which the courts hold the state to it.
If Parliament can make any law, the rule of law is what keeps power exercised under law rather than around it. This chapter starts with the principle itself — its classical meanings, its recognition in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and its relationship with parliamentary sovereignty — before turning to legality: the need for a lawful basis for executive action, the equal subjection of ministers and the Crown to ordinary law, and judicial review of prerogative powers. It then examines how courts protect rights through the principle of legality in statutory interpretation and the protective presumptions against retrospective laws and strict liability, and what access to justice demands of ouster clauses, court fees and the clarity of the law itself. It closes with judicial independence and impartiality, covering security of tenure, the test for apparent bias and the guarantee of a fair hearing under Article 6.
