Vertical and Horizontal Dimensions of the Rule of Law

Scholarly discussions about the rule of law have become a cacophony of disagreement. The more that is written about the topic, it seems, the less that we know. Thus, bringing clarity to basic issues is essential. This Essay draws out the implications of a conceptual distinction between the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the rule of law at domestic and international levels.

The vertical dimension—which focuses on liberty and restraints on arbitrary government power—examines the top-down relationship between government officials and private actors in relation to how the ruling regime treats citizens and entities on matters of interest to the government itself. The horizontal dimension—which focuses on social ordering, security, and trust—examines the side-to-side relationship between actors in society on matters of everyday social and economic interaction. This Essay outlines and fills in the implications of the vertical-horizontal framework and applies the framework to four contexts to demonstrate its potential usefulness. A theme running through the Essay is that scholars have unduly neglected the importance of the horizontal dimension.

This Essay rectifies this neglect by showing the importance of examining both dimensions.