"Be you so high, the law is above you." This principle, part of the Rule of Law, has come to represent the powerful idea that even politicians and monarchs are bound by the law. However in an age of powerful corporations, international cyber-crime and popular support for authoritarian leaders, the Rule of Law is under threat worldwide.
Offered By
Citizenship and the Rule of Law
University of LondonAbout this Course
No educational background is required. An interest in current affairs, the rule of law or politics will enable you to get the most out of the course.
What you will learn
By the end of this course, you should be able to engage critically with the core requirements of the Rule of Law
By the end of this course, you should be able to explain why and how the Rule of Law is best protected
By the end of this course, you should be able to apply Rule of Law principles to issues in everyday life
By the end of this course, you should be able to construct and evaluate arguments about justice
Skills you will gain
- Legal Terminology
- Participatory Politics
- Legal Analysis
- Common Law
- Civic Engagement
No educational background is required. An interest in current affairs, the rule of law or politics will enable you to get the most out of the course.
Offered by

University of London
The University of London is a federal University which includes 18 world leading Colleges. Our distance learning programmes were founded in 1858 and have enriched the lives of thousands of students, delivering high quality University of London degrees wherever our students are across the globe. Our alumni include 7 Nobel Prize winners. Today, we are a global leader in distance and flexible study, offering degree programmes to over 50,000 students in over 180 countries. To find out more about studying for one of our degrees where you are, visit www.london.ac.uk
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
A Potted History of the Rule of Law
Welcome to the first week of the course. Week 1 is an overview of the headline debates concerning the Rule of Law and a discussion of how it applies in practice today. You will be taken through a historical account of the development of the principle over time from Aristotle’s first statement of the Rule of Law to the modern work of the Bingham Centre. This teaching session will also serve as an introduction to debates about the requirements of the Rule of Law, i.e. whether it passes judgment on if particular decisions are “good” or “bad” and whether human rights are part of the Rule of Law.
Judges: Independence, Tenure and Appointment
Welcome to the second week of the course. Week 2 will focus on processes for the selection and appointment of judges, the importance of public confidence in the judiciary and the role that judges play in securing the Rule of Law.
What does it mean to be equal before the law?
Welcome to the third week of the course. Week 3 will establish that all must be treated equally before the law. The session will discuss contentious situations in which treating people equally requires that they be treated differently in order to give effect to justice, such as the limited range of sanctions available to criminals convicted as children.
Access to Justice
Welcome to the fourth week of the course. Week 4 looks at a number of other barriers that individuals face in enforcing their legal rights. One of the concepts explored will be ‘legal capability’. This is defined as the knowledge, skills and confidence required to resolve legal problems in life. Students will be presented with a range of initiatives undertaken by civil society to improve legal capability and will produce their own ideas about improving access to justice across the world.
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- 5 stars84.21%
- 4 stars13.74%
- 3 stars1.75%
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TOP REVIEWS FROM CITIZENSHIP AND THE RULE OF LAW
Was very interesting and thorough, got to learn even more I imagined
Very informative. The reading materials are quite heavy and long but very good.
Must interesting subject I must gained extra knowledge. So that I should give five stars.
Really thorough, interesting and enjoyable course. Incredibly eye-opening and well put together :)
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