The ‘Rule of Law’
By Dr Paul Mills
“…God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Acts 10:34,35
The reputations of the US and UK legal systems have recently plumbed new depths. [1]
In the US, the blanket Presidential pardon [2] for any and all crimes that were or may have been committed between January 2014 and December 2024 granted to Hunter Biden made a mockery not just of Joe Biden’s prior promise not to do so, but also of his own administration’s Department of Justice. A valid concern is that the pardon is so complete and wide-ranging because of alleged influence-peddling crimes involving Ukraine and China from which the President himself profited, that have so far gone unindicted. This follows the President’s refusal to accept two Supreme Court rulings that his administration’s attempts to cancel student debt were unconstitutional. Having stated repeatedly that ‘no one is above the law’ when referring to his political opponents, the President has repeatedly demonstrated that he believes he is.
Unfortunately, the UK’s reputation with regard to judicial probity and even-handedness has also been besmirched of late. There has been a long-standing injustice regarding the police’s recording of ‘non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs)’ on the basis of mere complaints about social media posts or verbal statements. While no judicial test of these complaints is made, with a defendant’s right to confront the accusation with the benefit of due process, their recording can have significant consequences with regard to failed job applications and background checks. In addition, police time is disproportionately directed towards taking action against expressions of religious or political opinion, from Christian street preaching to critics of trans-ideology, while taking little to no action against clear antisemitic expressions or theft (notably shop-lifting). There appeared to be a ‘two-tier’ approach to the policing of demonstrations in 2020 [3] as well as the riots over the summer of 2024, depending on members of which community were rioting, while the long-running grooming gangs scandals and the despicable treatment of Muslim-convert Hatun Tash and campaigner Caroline Farrow by the police over recent years have demonstrated the double standards that have often been applied. [4] Meanwhile, the early release of prisoners guilty of serious offences to relieve longstanding prison overcrowding in the past months has added to the perception of a penal system that is arbitrary, unjust and biased.
Why should these failures of partiality in the US and UK judicial systems be a source of such deep concern? After all, if a realist ‘might is right’ attitude to political power is taken, these instances are only to be expected. Our distress is rooted in the realization that the tenets of English common law (upon which both US and UK legal systems are based) are derived from the principles of Old Testament (OT) law. Two of those relevant to the current concerns are:
1. The impartial application of the law.
On numerous occasions, OT law states the requirement that it be applied to all citizens within Israel without bias. For instance:
You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. Justice, and only justice, you shall follow…. (Deuteronomy 16:19).
The Mosaic Code instructs judges to eschew bias in favour of the majority versus the less numerous (Exodus 23:2); in favour of either those of low or elevated social standing (Deuteronomy 1:17); in favour of the native-born versus the migrant (Leviticus 19:33-34); or in favour either of the poor or the rich (Exodus 23:3; Leviticus 19:15). Why such an emphasis on strict impartiality in these varying circumstances? Because God Himself is impartial [5] and unbiased in His judgements (Deuteronomy 10:17, see also 2 Chronicles 19:7) and so human judges and magistrates are to seek to emulate Him, however imperfectly.
2. The acknowledgement that the King was bound by the Law and was not above it.
Deuteronomy 17:18-20 instructs that the king of Israel should write out, read and observe his own copy of God’s law, and that he should apply it in an even-handed manner. This was then reflected in Moses’ instructions to Joshua (1:7-8), David’s instructions to Solomon (1 Kings 2:2,3) and subsequently lived out by King Josiah (2 Kings 23:25). Hence today’s mantra that ‘no one is above the law’, even kings and presidents, derives directly from the Mosaic code and its application. [6]
Given the contrast between the principles of OT law and current, fallible applications, what are Christians to do? We are, first, to pray for God to arise, right the wrongs done to the oppressed and do justice (Psalms 10&82). Second, we are to pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-4) to perform the functions that God has placed them in authority for – ‘to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right’ (1 Peter 2:14; also Romans 13:4). Third, we can campaign against unjust laws or unjust applications of laws. Fourth, we can seek to be ‘salt and light’ by working in the spheres of politics, the law or the police to restrain such abuses or power and partiality of application.
Seeing that justice is done is a communal obligation (e.g. Exodus 23:1-8; Zechariah 7:9-10). Unless justice is, and is seen to be, done within a society, respect for law will gradually be eroded and communities will be tempted to find alternative means of protecting themselves from lawlessness. Self-serving Presidential pardons and ‘two-tier’ and arbitrary law enforcement both breach biblical principles of justice and, if left unaddressed, threaten respect for the rule of law within society.
The views and opinions expressed above are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the Jubilee Centre or its trustees.
[1] The abortive attempt by South Korean President Yoon to declare martial law unconstitutionally on December 3rd 2024 also constitutes a recent subversion of the rule of law.
[3] Non-violent anti-lockdown demonstrations were policed aggressively while sometimes violent Black Lives Matter protests were granted relative leniency.
[4] Dieppe, T., ‘Two-tier policing is not new’, The Critic, August 9th 2024, https://thecritic.co.uk/two-tier-policing-is-not-new/
[5] The impartiality of God is a recurring theme in the New Testament (Luke 20:21; Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Galatians 2.6; 1 Peter 1:17 etc.).
[6] The many personal and national tragedies of King David’s later years (II Samuel chs.12-24) result from his committing adultery and murder in the case of Bathsheba and Uriah (II Samuel 11), as the highest judge in the land placed himself above the law. There was then no means of appropriate retribution for the crimes he had committed and no way to cleanse the land of his bloodguilt.
