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弗雷德里克·沃特金斯(Frederick Watkins)认为,法律具有最高的权威性,社会与政府的二元主义,从而社会对政府权力的有效制约是实现法治的前提条件。古希腊和古罗马都因为法治而盛极一时,但是也因为法治不完善不稳定而不可避免地衰落了。西方的法治传统是在中古时期最终建立起来的。教会在精神和伦理方面的统治地位不仅为法律的权威性奠定了基础,而且能够对官僚体系的世俗权力形成有效的制约。近代的自然法观念、公意理论和启蒙哲学思想为现代法治提供了思想资源。宪政民主制度能够整合社会力量与政府相抗衡,防止官僚体系的专制独裁和极权统治,实现“法律之下的自由”的理想。
According to Frederick Watkins, the law has the highest authority and the dualism of society and government. Therefore, the effective restriction of government on government power is the prerequisite for the realization of the rule of law. Both ancient Greece and ancient Rome flourished because of the rule of law, but inevitably declined because of the imperfect and unstable law and order. The Western tradition of rule of law was finally established in the Middle Ages. The dominance of the church in spirit and ethics not only laid the foundation for the authority of law but also effectively restricted the secular power of bureaucracy. Modern concepts of natural law, public opinion theory and enlightenment philosophical thought provide the ideological resources for the modern rule of law. The constitutional democracy can integrate social forces with the government to prevent the bureaucratic autocracy and totalitarian rule and realize the ideal of “freedom under the law.”