The Democratic Rule of Law is a type of State guided by the laws and based on will of the people.
In order to be “of Law”, the State must be the “empire of laws” - that is, the laws must apply to everyone, and no one is above them. To be "Democratic", the State must be guided by the principle of popular sovereignty - that is, the people must participate effectively in political decisions, which must aim at the well-being general.
To better define what the Democratic Rule of Law is, it is first necessary to understand basically what the Rule of Law and the Democratic Rule are. After all, the definition of the Democratic Rule of Law takes into account the elements of these two types of State.
O rule of law it is linked to the rise of liberalism in the eighteenth century and the so-called bourgeois revolutions. In the former Absolutist States, the king held all power over his subjects. In a rule of law, all submit to the principle of legality (everyone is subject to the laws), and citizens (unlike subjects) have their individual freedoms preserved. State power is limited by legal norms.
At the democratic state, the power comes from the people - "all power emanates from the people", as written in Article 1 of the Federal Constitution of Brazil. In addition to “emanating” from the people, this power must be exercised for the people - that is, the people is the purpose of power in a democracy. Thus, a Democratic State is one in which the principle of social justice, with the guarantee of social rights aimed at reducing inequalities.
Generally speaking, the Democratic Rule of Law can be defined based on the following characteristics:
- Existence of a Constitution that is the result of popular will.
- Effectiveness of a State whose power is based on popular sovereignty.
- Guarantee of a set of fundamental rights: civil rights (such as the right to come and go), political (such as the right to vote) and social (such as the right to education).
- Promoting the well-being of the population and equality (social justice).
- Existence of an independent judiciary, so that the rights of all citizens are guaranteed.
See too:
- state
- Democracy