The Rule of Law and the Separation of Powers

by Richard Bellamy (Editor)

The rule of law is frequently invoked in political debate, yet rarely defined with any precision. Some employ it as a synonym for democracy, others for the subordination of the legislature to a written constitution and its judicial guardians. It has been seen as obedience to the duly-recognised government, a form of governing through formal and general rule-like laws and the rule of principle. Given this diversity of view, it is perhaps unsurprising that certain scholars have regarded the concept as no more than a self-congratulatory rhetorical device. This collection of eighteen key essays from jurists, political theorists and public law political scientists, aims to explore the role law plays in the political system. The introduction evaluates their arguments. The first eleven essays identify the standard features associated with the rule of law. These are held to derive less from any characteristics of law per se than from a style of legislating and judging that gives equal consideration to all citizens. The next seven essays then explore how different ways of separating and dispersing power contribute to this democratic style of rule by forcing politicians and judges alike to treat people as equals and regard none as above the law.

600 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Richard Bellamy was born in Glasgow, though he is not of Scottish descent - both his parents came from Liverpool. The family moved to near London when he was 2, by way of a 6 month period on the beach near Pisa, where his father was working at the Institute of Physics. Though he did return to Glasgow 16 years later to work as a community service volunteer (CSV) prior to University, those few idyllic months in Italy left a profound impression and many of his writings engage with the Italian tradition of political thought. The family also spent periods in California (while his father was at Stanford) and Geneva (where his father worked at CERN).

Richard studied history at Cambridge and did his PhD there and at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. He was a post doctoral research fellow at Nuffield College Oxford, a temporary lecturer in history at Cambridge and then moved to a lectureship in politics at Edinburgh. He has held Chairs at UEA, Reading, Essex and University College, London (UCL), where he was founding head of the Political Science Department and also set up the European Institute. From 2014-2019 he was Director of the Max Weber Post-doctoral programme at the EUI, on extended leave from his position at UCL to which he has now returned. He has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Exeter and at the Hertie School in Berlin, where he was Professor of Ethics and Public Policy and is now a Senior Fellow.

The author of 11 monographs and the editor of a further 30 books, most of his work combines history, politics, law and philosophy to different degrees. He has written extensively on the development of, and challenges to, democracy, citizenship and constitutionalism in modern societies, particularly in Europe and most recently in relation to the European Union. He is presently working on books on constitutional theory and on democratic ethics.

He lives and works between London, Exeter, Berlin and Livorno. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) and of the British Academy (FBA). Further information about Richard can be found on his website (see link above).