A Crisis of Legality in the Criminal Law? Reflections on the Rule of Law

The Carl Vinson Lecture The notion of the Rule of Law dates from the beginnings of political thought in the western world. In many ways it has had a curious career, for the concept has inspired hyperbole and bombast while, at the same time, generating some of our most sensitive meditations on the nature of law and the relation of individual rights to the exercise of political power and authority.