RULE OF LAW
rule of law. 1. A substantive legal principle <under the rule of law known as respondeat
superior, the employer is answerable for all wrongs committed by an employee in the course of the
employment>.2. The supremacy of regular as opposed to arbitrary power <citizens must respect
the rule of law>. — Also termed supremacy of law. 3. The doctrine that every person is subject to
the ordinary law within the jurisdiction <all persons within the United States are within the
American rule of law>.4. The doctrine that general constitutional principles are the result of
judicial decisions determining the rights of private individuals in the courts <under the rule of law,
Supreme Court caselaw makes up the bulk of what we call “constitutional law”>.5. Loosely, a
legal ruling; a ruling on a point of law <the ratio decidendi of a case is any rule of law reached by
the judge as a necessary step in the decision>. [Cases: Courts 87. C.J.S. Courts §§ 135–136.] [Blacks Law 8th]