The man seen as the advocate of this doctrine is A.V. Dicey, a United Kingdom professor. Professor AV. Dicey propounded this concept in 1885 with his book titled “Introduction to the Law of the Constitution”
In this book as published in 1885, the author, Professor A.V. Dicey based the concept of rule of law on three fundamental principles as explained below:
Principle of Equality before the Law:
This means that no individual person is above the law; both the rulers and the ruled are equal before the law, irrespective of their social status in society.
The law is not a respecter of any person or group of persons, hence, the Jaw that applies to leaders also applies to the ruled. Nobody is above the law.
Principle of Impartiality:
This means that no individual person should be unduly or unlawfully punished or deprived of his rights or property except by the violation of the law of the land, which must be administered and established by a court of law after a normal trial in the ordinary court of law.
In this sense, an accused person or group of persons is/are presumed innocent until found guilty by the court of law.
Principle of Fundamental Human Rights:
Fundamental human rights are inalienable rights of the individual person, and therefore should not be deprived of any individual by the government.
A. V. Dicey’s principles, therefore, advocate that citizens of a country should be granted certain basic rights and liberties to enjoy. Such rights can be challenged in a court of law upon violation either by the government, individual Person(s) or group(s).