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directly elect their President. Democracy – to repeat – is never
perfect. We can also debate how democratic society can or should
be.

The rule of law can of course exist without a developed or
even any democratic system. Britain before the Great Reform Act
of 1832, although still not genuinely democratic on my definition,
th
was a rule of law state and had been so since the early 18
century. Modern Hong Kong is also a rule of law state, as it was
th
since the mid-19 century, without being a democracy. So has
Northern Ireland been a rule of law during periods of non-
parliamentary direct rule from Westminster.

The question is therefore whether a democracy can exist
without the rule of law. The answer is clearly not.

In order to have the most rudimentary democracy there have
to be electoral laws which are implemented carefully, universally,
and rigorously, with malpractices kept to a minimal level. If not
there is no parliamentary representation. Democracy also depends
on the existence of the civil liberties of freedom of expression,
assembly and association, otherwise voters cannot be informed
and there is no genuine debate about the issues which determine
their choice of candidates. Similarly if there is no recourse to law
then these rights cannot be enforced. Recourse to law involves
settled constitutional laws and an independent judiciary. Once
voters exercise their choice, and officials are in office, there has to
be accountability. Here it is possible to have political
accountability without a strict rule of law; however it si not
advisable. Not every decision can be tested via political process,
and democratic societies have seen the need to have administrative
law to check the most arbitrary and unfair decisions. As you will
now see, all of the principles I associated earlier with the rule of
law are more or less necessary in order to have even a rudimentary
democracy. Even beyond this, if you do not have a sense of equal
citizenship and a sense that all citizens have recourse to law, it is
hard to see that democracy would have any meaning. It would
merely be system in which the powerful falsely proclaim they
govern in the interests and with the consent of the majority.

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