Investing in the rule of law
I will only pose a simple question. Is it more important in a civilized society to build roads to match with international standards, spending literally millions of dollars, rather than to have a peaceful and law abiding society where the rule of law prevails?
(K C Kamlasabayson, PC, Attorney General of Sri Lanka, 13th Kanchana Abhayapala Memorial Lecture, 2 December 2003)
Investment in the rule of law is given low priority by most states in Asia. More words are spoken on law and order and the rule of law than virtually anything else, but when it comes to money, the words lose significance. However, experience shows that to establish the rule of law with some success, such as in Hong Kong, there must be relatively heavy expenditure on the creation and maintenance of the necessary services.
Money and quality are related. As the old saying goes, “Cheap things are not good and good things are not cheap.” If the rule of law is to depend on cheap services then inevitably corruption will succeed and not the rule of law. Sadly, often this seems to be the deliberate intention when the rule of law is waning. The reason is not hard to see. The rule of law is based on the strict principle of equality before law. Those who want the rule of law must also be willing to suffer if they themselves break the law. However, some groups in society commonly wish to remain outside the law. Some want it to apply to their opponents or perceived opponents, but not to themselves. If this group of people also happens to have the largest share of power in the society then the rule of law cannot be successfully established.
Thus, to have or not to have the rule of law is somewhat like Hamlet’s choice, to be or not to be. However, in society this is not an individual choice. It depends on the balance of forces, in this case, between those who wish for social stability on the basis of equality before the law and those who wish for a society that they can manipulate to their advantage without being subject to its rules. Where the rule of law is at a low ebb, those who want chaos, confusion and arbitrary ways of living and enriching themselves have prevailed over the vast majority of persons, who want to live peaceful lives in cooperation with each other.
The Attorney General’s question is valid. The strange thing, however, is that those who may want good roads often succeed over those who want a good society. To understand and reveal how this happens in a particular society is to reveal how the rule of law is sacrificed to selfish interests. Whether or not this can be done depends on the public. Does a society have the maturity to accept and examine the causes leading to its own decay and possible collapse? Where the answer is yes, it will lead to dynamic interventions and actions that will tilt the balance in favour of the rule of law and against confusion, anarchy and the arbitrary rules of the few.
