At the outset of our endeavour, we want to draw attention to two different meanings of the term 'law' itself. The different views on rule of law in the countries under examination can be partly traced back to terminology. Most European languages have two different words for the English and the American word 'law'. The first term has the meaning of the word 'Gezetz' in German, 'Loi' in French, 'Wet' in Dutch, 'Ley' in Spanish (compare 'Undang-undang' in Indonesia), In all those languages there also exists another term for 'law', which expresses a higher nation of law and is reflected in the word 'Recht' in German and Dutch, 'Droit' in French, 'Derecho' in Spanish ('Hukum' in Indonesia).
This Law in a higher sense is related to the rights of 'Human Rights' in the sense of higher rights or principal rights.
Hence we can derive two different manifestation/meaning for the Rule of Law :
This Law in a higher sense is related to the rights of 'Human Rights' in the sense of higher rights or principal rights.
Hence we can derive two different manifestation/meaning for the Rule of Law :
- Rule of law in the narrow, which means a state based on the principle that the government is bound by rules that have been written and announced beforehand (compare hereafter the thin conception of rule of law).
- Rule of law in broad sense, which means an ideal for good government with in it the dimension of good Law or Right. In this concept great empasis is being laid on the constitution and on judicial review (compare hereafter the thick conception of rule of law).
