Drawing on insights from IEP’s RESILIO project and the latest research findings, the RESILIO-ACCESS model enhances the study of rule of law resilience by identifying the resources that make the rule of law resilient, and the most common threats it must persist against.
The RESILIO-ACCESS model consists of three layers.
First, primary resilience resources refer to the eight widely accepted structural components of the system of the rule of law itself, as defined by the World Justice Project. Additionally, these aspects are complemented by six components to account for our maximalist conception of the rule of law. They include inter alia the historical legacy of the rule of law and legal culture in a given political system, but also equality before the law and expenditure for judicial systems.
Second, subsidiary resilience resources refer to the social environment the rule of law is embedded in. They include among others a robust civil society, unbiased media, academic freedom, and the level of democracy in a state.
Third, since resilience can only be understood properly against the threats the rule of law faces, the model identifies as stressors the most common drivers of rule of law recession identified in the literature, including executive aggrandisement, emergency powers and corruption.
The RESILIO-ACCESS model is adaptable to political systems globally. It allows for a holistic study of the resilience capacity of the rule of law and its actual performance against the stressors the rule of law faces today.
Definitions
RESILIO-ACCESS defines the rule of law as a durable system of laws, institutions, norms, and community commitment. Under the rule of law, all public powers act within the constraints set out by law, in accordance with the values of democracy and fundamental rights, and under the control of independent and impartial courts. Core elements of the rule of law include the principle of legality, the principle of legal certainty, the prohibition of arbitrary use of executive power, effective judicial protection by independent and impartial courts, and equality before the law.
Resilience of the rule of law means the capacity of the rule of law to prevent, cope with or recover from hazardous events or incremental threats without losing its core function, structure and purpose.
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