UPSC Prelims 2018 · Question 45 of 99
UPSC Prelims 2018 question on Rule of Law Features
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2018
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectPolity
- TopicBasic Concepts of Constitution
- DifficultyHard
- TypeStatement
Which of the following are regarded as the main features of the 'Rule of Law'?
1. Limitation of Powers
2. Equality before law
3. People's responsibility to the Government
4. Liberty and civil rights
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Show answer
Answer: C. 1, 2 and 4 only
Analysis
Features 1, 2 and 4 are correct, so the answer is (c) 1, 2 and 4 only.
Feature 1 is CORRECT. Limitation of powers is central: the fundamental rights in Part III restrict the law making power of Parliament, and the State has no power to deprive a person of life and liberty without the authority of law. A secondary meaning of rule of law is that government must be conducted within recognised rules and principles that restrict discretionary power.
Feature 2 is CORRECT. Equality before the law is one of the three meanings Dicey attributed to the doctrine in his 1885 work, alongside supremacy of law and the predominance of legal spirit.
Feature 3 is INCORRECT. Rule of law is about limiting government and holding it to law, not about the people's responsibility to the Government, which inverts the direction of accountability.
Feature 4 is CORRECT. Protection of liberty and civil rights follows from the predominance of legal spirit and from the enforceability of rights.
Source
Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth, chapter on Fundamental Rights.
How to crack it
Feature 3 reverses the direction of the relationship, and direction reversal is the standard trick in conceptual Polity questions. Ask in whose favour the doctrine operates, then reject any option placing the burden on the citizen instead of the State.