Hrn Management
- Submitted by: ngordon
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- Category: Other
- Date Submitted: 09/27/2011 07:28 PM
- Pages: 2
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The rule of law is a concept that is meant to provide a safety net for all people in a place from mistreatment of those in power. It describes a place where laws exists, and affirms that no person’s actions will be excluded from the ramifications of those laws. Even the leader(s) of that place will be subject to the laws and will be disciplined as defined if those laws are broken.
This concept is important as a matter of basic human rights. The idea that the full status spectrum of people, from the highest ranking person in a place, to a homeless person living on the street are all subject to the same laws, is a strong human rights statement. Regardless of status, everyone is subject to the same laws.
The benefits of this concept are many, ranging from establishing a base foundation in which people understand they need to operate, to providing “a stabilizing and transformative component of a world order that honors and respects the dignity of all the people.” (Nagan, 2001).
Instead of taking the approach of how this “rule” can be applied to different places in the world, I would like to look at how even places that adopted this concept (such as the United States) can experience times when the rule of law no longer applies, such as during a major disaster.
Everyone watched the TV during Hurricane Katrina, for example, and saw people breaking into stores to take what they needed, or thieves just using the opportunity to steal whatever they wanted during a time of tragedy. From my perspective, the rule of law was set aside during that experience and the result was complete chaos. It’s a prime example of the price the absence of the rule of law “cost” the people in that place. There was no longer a foundation in which people could operate, so a number of people did whatever they wanted, and chaos prevailed.
During that tragedy, the lack of basic human needs (water, food, etc.) resulted in the breakdown of the rule of law. Basic rights were no longer the...
This concept is important as a matter of basic human rights. The idea that the full status spectrum of people, from the highest ranking person in a place, to a homeless person living on the street are all subject to the same laws, is a strong human rights statement. Regardless of status, everyone is subject to the same laws.
The benefits of this concept are many, ranging from establishing a base foundation in which people understand they need to operate, to providing “a stabilizing and transformative component of a world order that honors and respects the dignity of all the people.” (Nagan, 2001).
Instead of taking the approach of how this “rule” can be applied to different places in the world, I would like to look at how even places that adopted this concept (such as the United States) can experience times when the rule of law no longer applies, such as during a major disaster.
Everyone watched the TV during Hurricane Katrina, for example, and saw people breaking into stores to take what they needed, or thieves just using the opportunity to steal whatever they wanted during a time of tragedy. From my perspective, the rule of law was set aside during that experience and the result was complete chaos. It’s a prime example of the price the absence of the rule of law “cost” the people in that place. There was no longer a foundation in which people could operate, so a number of people did whatever they wanted, and chaos prevailed.
During that tragedy, the lack of basic human needs (water, food, etc.) resulted in the breakdown of the rule of law. Basic rights were no longer the...