Social Foundation of Rule by Law

The “local source” of rule by law proposed by Su Li is based on the recognition on the relationship between rule by law and the society. It may be re-explained as the issue of social foundation of the building of rule by law. On one side, whether the law and system is founded on the basis of the state itself, and is adapted to the native reality and situation of society, it is related to the innate and autonomous nature for realizing the development of the rule by law. On the other side, whether there is enough local sources, such as informal systems, which can help to form the partial and micro fields of social order, it is to support an improvement of rule by law and the enforcement of law, or to be a remedy to the insufficiency and shortcomings of the legal system itself. In order to lay a sound foundation for the rule by law, it is essential to enhance rule by law, the responsive ability of the law enforcement, as well as to heighten the adaptability of law and to build the micro system in supporting the rule by law through a mechanism of try and revision. The so-called “local source” means those social formation and elements which can promote order. In the situation of development and reform, it is necessary to deal with the social foundation for the rule by law cautiously, thus to communicate between state plan and social reality for the purpose of finding the chance and the routes to an innate and autonomous way of rule by law.