Rule of law – changing contexts and new challenges
The nature, objectives, and effects of rule of law are undergoing major transformations, resulting from the increasing international and transnational dimensions of governance. A new policy brief presents the new challenges of the internationalization of rule of law in a changing context. The brief is part of an international research project between Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (HiiL), the Amsterdam Centre for International Law, and the WZB represented by Michael Zürn, Director of the research unit Global Governance. The project aims at exploring the consequences of internationalization for contemporary rule of law promotion.
Policymakers, scholars, and the general public are increasingly attuned to the fact that the singularly most important feature of political and legal authority in the contemporary world is its increasing internationalization. This policy brief highlights the implications of these developments. The regulatory universe is no longer populated solely by states. On the contrary, authority is becoming dispersed and diffuse. In addition to private or semi-public civil society actors, which increasingly take on governance roles, authority is vested in a vast, multifarious array of international institutions, such as the European Union and the United Nations Security Council. These actors influence many areas of societal life.
This policy brief sets out a framework for apprehending the basic contours of an emerging international rule of law, while also formulating a number of concrete implications for actors who promote the rule of law in an internationalized context.