Resource information
Law is society's institution which
articulates rules to govern legal and non-legal
institutions. Rules of legal institutions aim to protect the
citizen against discretionary and arbitrary power, ensure
equality with others and guarantee procedural fairness.
Impartial administration of the law through independent
accessible courts and a democratic process of law-making,
defines and enforces the limits and powers of state
institutions and sets out the scope of legitimate state
intervention in the affairs of its citizens. To the extent
that the rule of law accomplishes this, a neutral legal
order exists, capable of supporting the competitive market
economy in the following ways: a) ensuring predictability
and security of property rights and transactions; b)
limiting arbitrary and discretional rational power of the
state and its agents; c) maintaining the independence of the
judiciary and at the same time curtailing judicial activism;
and d) limiting the retroactivity of rules of law. Because
of the lack of a formalized private sector in Africa, in
many countries the State plays a major role in economic
activity; it may supercede or qualify the market. This makes
it even more important that the law should emphasize fair
and efficient administration.
