Legal Ethics

Author: Shi Wenlong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: The Introduction to Rule of Law is a "Career Shaping and Cultivation" Endeavor
In September 1997, China proposed: "Rule of law, building a socialist rule of law state." As a governance strategy, "rule of law" has been enshrined in the constitution and confirmed by the current constitution. However, "rule of law" cannot merely remain at the level of general slogans or concepts; it needs to be combined with the practice of rule of law, gradually enriching and perfecting its content. In recent years, the application of "rule of law" in practice has shown a trend of overuse: geographically, there are phrases such as "rule of law in provinces," "rule of law in cities," "rule of law in counties," and even "rule of law in villages"; in various fields, there are slogans like "rule of law in mountains," "rule of law in water," and "rule of law in roads"; in the industries managed by administrative organs, there are slogans such as "rule of law in taxation," "rule of law in electricity," and "rule of law in enterprises." In short, such slogans are endless, overwhelming and dazzling. But the prosperity of slogans cannot replace the practical problems faced by China's rule of law construction. The aforementioned "imitative" application of "rule of law" in practice reflects our naive understanding of rule of law. Once, we seemed to think that as long as there was rule of law, the governance of the country would be perfect. In fact, rule of law becomes empty and meaningless without the connotation of "people," becoming merely a superficial political "ornament." Because every aspect of lawmaking, enforcement, and supervision is inseparable from the role of people, the role of law is also realized through regulating human behavior to achieve its function and value. Unlike rule by man, rule of law is "governance by law" or "governance by rules," but no matter how it is, it must be completed by people. It is clear that "people" are the eternal theme of rule of law and the core of the issues it always faces. Therefore, we say that jurisprudence is a special form of human studies, both the foundation of legal ethics and the prerequisite for its development. Looking at the current rule of law, it is not difficult to find that without a qualified team of judges, the enforcement of law can easily "become distorted," leading to "judicial corruption"; without a qualified team of civil servants, the construction of administrative law will "go astray." Additionally, what we have yet to realize is that without a qualified legislative team, laws will first be "distorted." Therefore, one of the important tasks of rule of law is to cultivate a qualified team of legal professionals. In other words, the maturity of rule of law depends on human factors, especially on the maturity of legal professionals, including the cultivation of a mature group of professional legal scholars, the establishment of qualified legislative and judicial teams, and the formation of a stable and orderly civil servant team. The ultimate maturity of rule of law depends on the formation of qualified modern citizens. Therefore, cultivating qualified modern citizens is the ultimate goal of rule of law, which is also the "ultimate good" proposed in this book. In this regard, we propose that the rule of law is a "career shaping and cultivation" endeavor. We advocate rule of law and oppose rule by man, but we cannot ignore the role and value of people. Discussing rule of law without considering human factors often leads to a situation like "shooting mosquitoes with anti-aircraft guns—hitting the sky with the sky"; building rule of law in this manner can easily cause it to "deform" or "go astray" in the real society.