subterfuge

Friedrich Hayek offers us an astute insight into the idea of community: "What makes a community is common recognition of the same rules and laws". In this context it is interesting to note the rise and proliferation of the law as known to us folks.

Moses was provided the law for a set of precedents. He not only handed this down to the people but went further to decentralize this function, by dispensing the execution of the law through elders of each tribe.

In cases where a law could not be applied as a case could be different from the applicable precedent, the case was referred to Moses. It is interesting to note in areas of new cases, a ruling generated was made to agree with the tenet of the original law provided, if no precedents were available a new directive was set but based on the basic tenet.

Today, our law system is framed and executed in much the same way.

Private law keeps us off our neighbour’s back and vice versa. We honour contracts, we keep off his backyard, we respect his privacy in effect we live peaceably with each other on account of private law.

Public law governs the relationship between the government and the people. Constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law are sub-divisions of public law.

In the old days, the sovereigns used to oversee the law but kept themselves above the law. Since that time, a level playing field has been created for the ruler and the ruled in the parliamentary system. We have private law that governs people and public law that governs the relationship between government and people, however we still can’t get our government by the law for incompetence. Take for instance, roads, electricity, water, cleanliness, medical facilities.

Subterfuge is a powerful force today and governments use it. I mean this is deft play, governments are inclusive to the mechanics of the law, but seldom are they held accountable.

"The main foundations of every state, new states as well as ancient or composite ones, are good laws and good arms you cannot have good laws without good arms, and where there are good arms, good laws inevitably follow." - Niccolo Machiavelli.

Our public laws need to be accountable, defined and quantified. It has to be better armed for governments to be accountable by the law and by its citizens.