It assumes a particular significance in the absence of a written codified and entrenched document which legally and constitutionally sets out the limits of the government particularly in the context of human rights In the United Kingdom the rule of law denoting the fundamental principle that government is under the law takes on a particular significance One of the most important of the judiciary s responsibilities is to uphold the rule of law since it is the rule of law which prevents the Government of the day from abusing its powers In terms of equality before the law Dicey argued that all individuals both citizens and state officials are under the ordinary law If a state official breaches the law he would be treated the same treatment as an ordinary citizen Dicey's principle of equality under the law can be noted in the case of Entick v Carrington In this case officials in the state were sued in the law of trespass for unlawfully entering Entick s property and seizing his papers A private individual would have been sued in the same way had they entered and seized Entick s property This illustrates the state being held to account by the ordinary law of the land before the ordinary court system
