Law And Democracy

Law is a system of rules that are created and enforced through social or governmental institutions to regulate behaviour. It has been defined both as “the science of justice” and “the art of justice.” Law regulates and ensures that individuals or a community adhere to the will of the state. Law can be made by a legislature through legislation. The executive may make laws through regulations, whole judges may make laws through binding precedents as in common law jurisdictions. According to Sir Philip Sydney an English poet, Laws are not made like time-twigs or nets, to catch everything that toucheth them, but rather like sea-marks to guide from shipwreck the ignorant passenger.”
No one should be above the law, the lawmaker or the governed. The law is expected to apply to all, to avoid impunity, which is detrimental to good governance. Even governments must be bound by law. It is therefore not surprising that in our society today, the impunity of rulers encourage others to violate laws with reckless abandon, given the lack of efficacy of enforcement of laws in the system. In our context the relevance of law becomes more obvious in the democratic polity which we pretend to be running. Democracy for us, is a system of government based on acquisition of authority from the people, the institualization of the rule of law, the emphasis on the legitimacy of rulers, the availability of voices and cherished values (including freedoms), and accountability in governance.
The theme “rule of law” encompasses all it takes to uphold, promote and safeguard the supremacy of law over any proclivities of institutions, groups or individuals. It is a term which is instrumental to the nurturing of a virile democratic culture and democracy consolidation. Essentially where democracy has engendered a positive outcome, the enabling environment for the flourishing of the rule of law is provided, nurtured and respected by the institutions of horizontal accountability, to wit, the executive, legislature, the judiciary, civil society organizations, police and other relevant institutions and agencies. The rule of law is against arbitrary power, but in support of the supremacy of law. It means equality before the law and restraint on the state from absolutism and ensuring accountability by officials in the business of government.
The nerve centre of democracy is the rule of law, because of its strict adherence to constitutionalism, the principle of separation of powers and human rights. But we must not be bound by the assertion that the rule of law is democratic. A re-examination of history, teaches us that our legal system is a massive fortress against popular sovereignty. The rule of law cannot be truly practiced in todays Nigeria, because every government in power does and manipulates the law, the way it suits them. They choose the court order to obey and the ones not to obey. This is an occurrence from the local government to the government at the centre. Laws are obeyed as it favours the government of the day.
Nigerian’s democratic setting has no regard for the rule of law. The law was the will of the rulers. It does not matter whether these rulers were good or bad.

By: Nkechi Bright-Ewere