Essay Sample on China and Rule By Law: The Perpetuation of an Unjust System

Introduction

Rule by law means that the law is subjective to the ruler, the dictator, or the society. Rule of law, on the other hand, means that everyone must obey the law regardless of his or her status including the government. China is an example of countries that practice rule by law system of governance, and it is not a rule of law country (He 159). It has experienced arbitrary governance and social control over a number of years. Political institutions have also contributed to the perseverance of rule by law in China where the institutions use a dictatorship method of governance. Recently, the personal orders from the administrative organs and parties take the place of legal rules. Although China has shown some progressive remarks on the implementation of the rule by law. The progress and the problems in China as far as the rule of law is concerned is of two dimensions. The legal circumstances of the nation are complicated, and also the evaluation of the legal system in China and the culture are very difficult.

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In China, the courts, police officers, as well as the prosecutors are all controlled by the Communist Party. This makes the constitution that guarantees the freedom to citizens and other liberties to be of no value in delivering justice to people. Moreover, the judicial system in China is a despotic system where the citizens have to comply and obey the draconian laws while the citizens are motivated by the rewards and consequences of the law from the top order or the ruler. The Chinese dynasties have contained the idea of the rule by man, and the idea of the rule by law (Li 129). Therefore, the government official misuses the powers to suit their own policy needs. The institutional coerces to the development of the rule of law is the failure to make judicial reforms that would aim at giving the courts independence from the local government.

The rule by law is not merely based on the cultural explanations as some people tend to believe. It should be noted that the attitudes and beliefs that characterize the legal profession do not define the rule by law in an institution. An example is the case of Hong Kong that shows similar culture with different legal systems. The king and the government official use a dictatorship form of governance to rule the country (He 23). It is true that the current legal codes reflect on the Confucian ideas on the rites and on the virtues. This is because the law is only subjective to the ruler and, hence, dictatorship is applied to the subject or the society. Additionally, despite the mix of institutional and traditional influences, the institution has the strongest influence on the rule by law. This is because the legalism makes the standard laws that even the ruler is bound by.

Conclusion

From the analysis of the debate, China is a country in which its legal system is based on the rule by law and not by the rule of law. In some cases, social and political institutions misuse their powers for their own benefits and needs. Therefore, there is a need to carry out various reforms on the current legal system in institutions. In my opinion, any reform to the court system should take the deliberation expectations and the accurate goal as well the identity of a certain legal system. The court should be given authority to carry out its own judicial reform and it should be left to work independently without any external interference. I would wish China to adapt to the rule of law over the rule by law where the citizens and institutions are subjected to and accountable to the law. This will enhance justice to everyone without any discrimination across the nation.

Works Cited

He, Weifang. In the Name of Justice: Striving for the Rule of Law in China. Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press, 2012.

Li, Yuwen. The Judicial System and Reform in Post-Mao China: Stumbling Towards Justice. Farnham: Ashgate, 2014.