Home / Current Issue / Paper 1713720
A Critical Analysis of the Rule of Law and Forms of Government in India, USA, And UK
Subject area: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities · Area of research: Comparative Public Law
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I7-1713720
Abstract
The principles of the rule of law and the structure of the government in three great democracies like India, USA and UK vary vastly. Thus, this paper aims to analyse their legal foundations critically, as these countries incorporate the rule of law as the sustenance of democracy, protection of fundamental rights, and provision for social justice. The Constitution of India is unique in its combination of inherited British parliamentary forms with newly invented social justice-oriented provisions appropriate to the diverse, postcolonial environment. It describes a parliamentary government oriented toward ambitious social reform by which Directive Principles of State Policy reduce inequalities in society and are made to sit alongside fully justiciable Fundamental Rights. The Indian rule of law is based on ?procedure established by law,? and shaped both by the construction of statutes and by political bargaining during the drafting stage of the constitution. This has come to shape Indian constitutional jurisprudence as a constant tension between individual liberty and state power. While the United States practices the presidential system, rooted in the principle of separation of powers, founded on a strict and codified Constitution that enshrines judicial review as a mechanism of guardian control for constitutional supremacy. This is where and how the rule of law distinctly limits legislative and executive authority under an entrenched Bill of Rights, with the courts coming in protection of liberties. The United Kingdom comes up with a rather unique model, essentially based on an unwritten constitution made up of statutes, conventions, and judicial decisions, where parliamentary sovereignty is placed. It mandates the rule of law through parliamentary supremacy, meanwhile common law traditions plus human rights laws resulting in a flexible yet ancient by history framework that allows government power with individual freedom. It shows how, though all those bodies observed the rule of law, its application can be so diverse due to historical, cultural, and structural reasons. India fuses social revolution with national unity by merging idealism with pragmatism in governance through diversity. The United States places more weight on strong constitutional guarantees and judicial review; the United Kingdom depends on parliamentary sovereignty and flexible legal norms. It is from here that a study like this one would bring out how such differences play into the actual constitutional structures and, therefore determine to what extent democracy has resilience in different political contexts and the protection of rights.
Keywords
Rule of Law, India, Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles of State Policy, Judicial Review, Bill of Rights, United States, Human Rights, United Kingdom
References
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[2] Ibid.
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[7] Ibid.
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[9] Ibid.
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[11] Ibid.
[12] Fernanda Pirie, "Why the rule of law? A historical perspective." Comparative Legal History 12.2 (2024): 136-160.
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[21] Ibid
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[25] Ibid.
[26] The Constitution of India.
[27] AIR 1950 SC 27.
[28] AIR 1978 SC 597.
[29] AIR 1973 SC 1461.
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[34] 5 U.S. 137 1803.
[35] 347 U.S. 483 1954.
[36] 418 U.S. 683 1974.
[37] The Constitution of the United States of America
[38] 410 U.S. 113 1973.
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[42] 2001 UKHL 26
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[44] 2004 UKHL 56
[45] 2019 UKSC 41
[46] The Constitution of India.
[47] Ibid.
[48] AIR 1950 SC 27.
[49] Ibid.
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[53] 1765 19 St Tr 1030.
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[65] Ibid.
[66] Roderick M. Hills, "The Political Economy of Cooperative Federalism: Why State Autonomy Makes Sense and" Dual Sovereignty" Doesn't." Michigan Law Review 96.4 (1998): 813-944.
[67] Brian R. Tomlinson, "India and the British Empire, 1880-1935", The Indian Economic & Social History Review 12.4 (1975): 337-380.
[68] Ibid.
[69] Ann Lyon, Constitutional History of the United Kingdom, Routledge-Cavendish, 2016.
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[71] Aileen Kavanagh, Constitutional Review under the UK Human Rights Act, Cambridge University Press, 2009.
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[75] Ibid.
[76] Michael Foley, and John E. Owens, Congress and the presidency: Institutional politics in a separated system, Manchester University Press, 1996.
[77] Ibid.
[78] Ibid.
[79] Peter K. Eisinger, The rise of the entrepreneurial state: State and local economic development policy in the United States, Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1988.
[80] Robert M. Alexander, Representation and the Electoral College, Oxford University Press, 2019.
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[82] Mahendra Prasad Singh, "Discretionary Powers of the President and Governors in India in Constitution and Practice", Indian Journal of Public Administration 63.3 (2017): vii-xviii.
[83] Article 1, The Constitution of India.
[84] The Constitution of India.
[85] Vivek Kumar, and Chandra Sen, "FEDERAL STRUCTURE OF GOVERNANCE IN INDIA: A REVIEW", 2024.
[86] Arushi, "Embracing Diversity: The Pluralistic Framework of the Indian Constitution", Issue 3 Int'l JL Mgmt. & Human. 7 (2024): 4142.
[87] Ibid.
[88] Anashri Pillay, Reinventing reasonableness: the adjudication of social and economic rights in South Africa, India and the United Kingdom, Diss. UCL (University College London), 2011.
[89] Ibid.
How to cite this paper
@article{1713720,
author = {Anuj Wankhade},
title = {A Critical Analysis of the Rule of Law and Forms of Government in India, USA, And UK},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {9},
number = {7},
pages = {1537-1548},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1713720.pdf},
abstract = {The principles of the rule of law and the structure of the government in three great democracies like India, USA and UK vary vastly. Thus, this paper aims to analyse their legal foundations critically, as these countries incorporate the rule of law as the sustenance of democracy, protection of fundamental rights, and provision for social justice. The Constitution of India is unique in its combination of inherited British parliamentary forms with newly invented social justice-oriented provisions appropriate to the diverse, postcolonial environment. It describes a parliamentary government oriented toward ambitious social reform by which Directive Principles of State Policy reduce inequalities in society and are made to sit alongside fully justiciable Fundamental Rights. The Indian rule of law is based on ?procedure established by law,? and shaped both by the construction of statutes and by political bargaining during the drafting stage of the constitution. This has come to shape Indian constitutional jurisprudence as a constant tension between individual liberty and state power. While the United States practices the presidential system, rooted in the principle of separation of powers, founded on a strict and codified Constitution that enshrines judicial review as a mechanism of guardian control for constitutional supremacy. This is where and how the rule of law distinctly limits legislative and executive authority under an entrenched Bill of Rights, with the courts coming in protection of liberties. The United Kingdom comes up with a rather unique model, essentially based on an unwritten constitution made up of statutes, conventions, and judicial decisions, where parliamentary sovereignty is placed. It mandates the rule of law through parliamentary supremacy, meanwhile common law traditions plus human rights laws resulting in a flexible yet ancient by history framework that allows government power with individual freedom. It shows how, though all those bodies observed the rule of law, its application can be so diverse due to historical, cultural, and structural reasons. India fuses social revolution with national unity by merging idealism with pragmatism in governance through diversity. The United States places more weight on strong constitutional guarantees and judicial review; the United Kingdom depends on parliamentary sovereignty and flexible legal norms. It is from here that a study like this one would bring out how such differences play into the actual constitutional structures and, therefore determine to what extent democracy has resilience in different political contexts and the protection of rights.},
keywords = {Rule of Law, India, Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles of State Policy, Judicial Review, Bill of Rights, United States, Human Rights, United Kingdom},
month = {January},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I7-1713720}
}