In Roman jurisprudence, the concept similar to the Rule of Law was referred to as:

Question

The aim of the rules of natural justice is to secure justice or to put it negatively to prevent miscarriage of justice. These rules can operate only in areas not covered by any law validly made. In other words, they do not supplant the law of the land but supplement it. The concept of natural justice has undergone a great deal of change in recent years. In the past, it was thought that it included just two rules namely: (1) no one shall be a judge in his own case (Nemo debet esse judex propria causa) and (2) no decision shall be given against a party without affording him a reasonable hearing (audi alteram partem).
Very soon thereafter a third rule was envisaged and that is that quasi-judicial enquiries must be held in good faith, without bias and not arbitrarily or unreasonably. But in the course of years many more subsidiary rules came to be added to the rules of natural justice. Till very recently it was the opinion of the courts that unless the authority concerned was required by the law under which it functioned to act judicially there was no room for the application of the rules of natural justice. The validity of that limitation is not questioned.
If the purpose of the rules of natural justice is to prevent miscarriage of justice one fails to see why those rules should be made inapplicable to administrative enquiries. Often times it is not easy to draw the line that demarcates administrative enquiries from quasi-judicial enquiries. Enquiries which were considered administrative at one time are now being considered as quasi-judicial in character. Arriving at a just decision is the aim of both quasi-judicial enquiries as well as administrative enquiries. An unjust decision in an administrative enquiry may have more far reaching effect than a decision in a quasi-judicial enquiry as observed by this Court in Suresh Koshy George v. University of Kerala [Civil Appeal No. 990/68, decided on 15-07- 1968], the rules of natural justice are not embodied rules. What particular rule of natural justice should apply to a given case must depend to a great extent on the facts and circumstances of that case, the framework of the law under which the enquiry is held and the constitution of the Tribunal or body of persons appointed for that purpose. Whenever a complaint is made before a court that some principle of natural justice had been contravened the court has to decide whether the observance of that rule was necessary for a just decision on the facts of that case.
[Extract from the judgment of the Supreme Court in A.K. Kraipak v. Union of India, (1969) 2 SCC 262, decided on April 29, 1969, hereafter ‘A.K. Kraipak’].

Answer 1

Step 1: Understand Rule of Law.
The Rule of Law means law is supreme and no one, not even the ruler, is above the law.

Step 2: Look at the Roman concepts.
Roman law had several ideas: Jus Civile was the law of citizens, Jus Naturale was natural law, and Jus Gentium was the law of nations.

Step 3: Focus on Lex Regia.
Lex Regia dealt with the legal authority of the ruler and how sovereign power was exercised under law.

Step 4: Connect to Rule of Law.
The idea that the ruler's power flows from and is bound by law links Lex Regia to the modern Rule of Law.

Step 5: Rule out the others.
Jus Civile, Jus Naturale and Jus Gentium describe types of law, not the law-based authority of the ruler.

Step 6: Final answer.
The Roman concept closest to the Rule of Law is Lex Regia.
\[ \boxed{\text{Lex Regia}} \]

In Roman jurisprudence, the concept similar to the Rule of Law was referred to as:

Show Hint

The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

Top Questions on Jurisprudence

Questions Asked in AIBE exam