Rechtsstaat

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Rechtsstaat (German: [ˈʁɛçt͡sˌʃtaːt] ; lit. "state of law"; "legal state") is a doctrine in continental European legal thinking, originating in German jurisprudence. It can also be translated as "rule-of-law state", "legal state", "state of justice", or "state based on justice and integrity". It means a state in which everyone, especially the government, is subject to the law. A Rechtsstaat is a constitutional state in which the exercise of governmental power is based on and constrained by the law. It is closely related to "constitutionalism" which is often tied to the Anglo-American concept of the rule of law, but differs from it in also emphasizing what is just (i.e., a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity). Thus it is the opposite of Obrigkeitsstaat (German: [ˈoːbʁɪçkaɪ̯t͡sʃtaːt] ) or Nichtrechtsstaat (a state based on the arbitrary use of power), and of Unrechtsstaat (a non-Rechtsstaat with the capacity to become one after...

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