The Rule of Law as the Democratic Rule of Persons

Date & Time: 21 September 2026 (Monday) 6pm – 7pm

Venue: Rm 901, 9/F, Cheng Yu Tung Tower, The University of Hong Kong

Language: English

(In-person Event)  

Registration Link:

https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_regform.aspx?guest=Y&UEID=109587

Abstract:

One of the more (consciously) provocative arguments of Political Constitutionalism was the claim that ‘the rule of law simply is the democratic rule of persons’. That claim can be regarded as contentious in at least three senses. 

First, it appears to run counter to the whole notion of the rule of law as an alternative to, and constraint upon, the rule of persons. Second, it seems at odds with the concern to treat the rule of law as having a distinctive value, with attributes that cohere in a logical and consistent way around the nature of law. 

Finally, it confronts the view that the rule of law both provides the basis for, and is potentially threatened by, democracy. This paper seeks to overcome all three of these objections. Taking each in turn, I shall argue that the democratic rule of persons proves both intrinsically and instrumentally essential to laws and the legal system possessing the formal, substantive, and procedural qualities associated with the rule of law.

Speaker:

Richard Bellamy is Professor of Political Science at University College London (UCL), a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and the British Academy, and a Member of the Academia Europaea. He was educated at Cambridge University and the European University Institute. The author of 12 monographs, his research ranges from historical studies of Italian political thought post 1700, for which he was awarded the Serena Medal in 2012, to the development of a republican account of democracy, citizenship and constitutionalism that combines analytical legal, social and political philosophy with comparative politics. His book Political Constitutionalism: A Republican Defence of the Constitutionality of Democracy (CUP, 2007) won the 2009 Spitz Prize. His most recent book is Defending the Political Constitution (OUP, 2026). He is currently writing a book on The Moral Politician: The Myth of the Democratic Prince for Polity Press.

Chair:

Hualing Fu is the Warren Chan Professor in Human Rights and Responsibilities and the Dean of the Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong

This is an in-person event. For inquiries, please email Louisa at .