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42. Read and translate the text: The Rule of Law

The right to equality before the law, or equal protection of the law as it is often phrased, is fundamental to any just and democratic society. Whether rich or poor, ethnic majority or religious minority, political ally of the state or opponent – all are entitled to equal protection before the law.

The democratic state can not guarantee that life will treat everyone equally, and it has no responsibility to do so. However, the state should under no circumstances impose additional inequalities; it should be required to deal evenly and equally with all of its people.

No one is above the law, which is, after all, the creation of people. The citizens of a democracy submit to the law because they recognize that, however indirectly, they are submitting to themselves as makers of the law. When laws are established by the people who then have to obey them, both law and democracy are served.

Every state must have the power to maintain order and punish criminal acts, but the rules and procedures by which the state enforces its laws must be public and explicit, not secret, arbitrary or subject to political manipulation by the state.

There are some essential requirements of due process of law in a democracy. No one’s home should be broken into and searched by the police without a court order showing that there is good cause for such a search. The midnight knock of the secret police has no place in a democracy. No person shall be held under arrest without explicit, written charges that specify the alleged violation. Not only are persons entitled to know the exact nature of the charge against them, they also must be released immediately, if the court finds that the charge is without justification or the arrest is invalid.

Persons charged with crimes should not be held for protracted periods in prison. They are entitled to a speedy and public trial, and to confront and question their accusers. The authorities are required to grant bail, or conditional release, to the accused pending trial if there is little likelihood that the suspect will flee or commit other crimes.

Persons cannot be compelled to be witnesses against themselves. This prohibition against involuntary self-incrimination must be absolute. The police may not use torture or physical or psychological abuse against suspects under any circumstances. A legal system that bans forced confessions immediately reduces the incentives of the police to use torture, threats or other forms of abuse to obtain information, since the court will not allow such information to be placed into evidence at the time of the trial.

Persons shall not be subject to double jeopardy; that is; they cannot be charged with the same crime twice. Any person tried by a court and found not guilty can never be charged with that same crime again. Defendants may possess additional protections against coercive acts by the state. In a democratic society judges may be either appointed or elected to office, and hold office for specified terms or for life. However they are chosen, it is vital that they be independent of the nation’s political authority to ensure their impartiality. Judges cannot be removed for trivial or merely political reasons, but only for serious crimes or misdeeds – and then only through a formal procedure, such as impeachment (the bringing of charges) and trial in the legislature.