It is the idea that no one is above the law, not the president, not the powerful, not the judge. A government of laws, not of men. Easy to say, and the hardest thing in politics to keep.
The rule of law is the principle that everyone, including those who govern, is bound by and accountable under the law. It stands against arbitrary power, the idea that a ruler or official can simply do as they please, outside or above the rules that bind everyone else.
The phrase a government of laws, and not of men, was written into the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 by John Adams, capturing the whole idea: power should rest in known, stable laws, not in the will of whoever happens to hold office.
It requires more than just having laws. It requires that laws be public, clear, and applied equally; that no one be punished except through fair process; and crucially, that the powerful be subject to the same rules as the powerless.
It is fragile. The rule of law survives only as long as officials accept its limits and citizens insist on them. When a leader treats the law as binding on enemies but not allies, or on the people but not themselves, the rule of law is already breaking down.
