Rule of law | al-bab

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</li> <li class="active active-trail"> <a href="/index.php/society-politics/rule-law" class="active-trail is-active" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/53" aria-current="page">Rule of law</a> </li> <li> <a href="/index.php/sexual-diversity-2" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/50">Sexual diversity</a> </li> <li> <a href="/index.php/society-politics/social-reform" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/54">Social reform</a> </li> <li class="last"> <a href="/index.php/society-politics/wasta" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/55">Wasta</a> </li> </ul> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="block mt-15"> <div class="region region-sharethis-block"> <section id="block-sharethiswidget" class="block block-sharethis block-sharethis-widget-block clearfix"> <div class="sharethis-wrapper"> <span st_url="https://al-bab.com<front>" st_title="al-bab" class="st_facebook_large" displayText="facebook"></span> <span st_url="https://al-bab.com<front>" st_title="al-bab" class="st_twitter_large" 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data-history-node-id="53" class="page full clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p>The<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_law">rule of law</a>basically means government according to established laws and principles which are not applied in arbitrary ways. Several specific problems impede the rule of law in Arab countries:</p> <ul> <li> <p>There is a tendency in most Arab countries to apply laws selectively and officials often exercise a wide measure of discretion in their application.</p> </li> <li> <p>The powerful and wealthy can often influence the law to their own advantage – over-riding the principle that no one should be above the law.</p> </li> <li> <p>Corruption and<em>wasta</em>(use of "connections", especially family ties) often lead to the law being circumvented.</p> </li> <li> <p>There is a considerable degree of political control over the judiciary.</p> </li> <li> <p>In some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the law is not fully codified, resulting in inconsistent decisions by individual judges.</p> </li> </ul> <p>See also pages on<a href="http://al-bab.com/corruption-arab-countries"><strong>corruption</strong></a>and<a href="http://al-bab.com/society-politics/wasta"><strong>wasta</strong></a>.</p> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-lg-3 sidebar"> <div class="block homepage-artwork"> <div class="views-element-container form-group"><div class="view view-homepage-artwork view-id-homepage_artwork view-display-id-block_1 js-view-dom-id-d3ba0d2db6db64ecd98ed56300cdfa7bdd60084b872421812afd9c897d42a6ac"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-row"><div class="views-field views-field-field-art-image"><div class="field-content"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-09/susan-hefuna-patience.jpg" width="380" height="307" alt="" class="img-responsive" /> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-body"><div class="field-content"><p><strong>ARAB ART ONLINE:</strong> Susan Hefuna: <em>Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful)</em> 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. <a href="/node/3719#susan-hefuna">More information</a> | <a href="/sites/default/files/susan-hefuna-patience.jpg">Click to enlarge</a> </p> </div></div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="block blue-boxes"> <h2 class="block-title">News Background</h2> <div class="views-element-container form-group"><div class="view view-blue-boxes view-id-blue_boxes view-display-id-block_1 js-view-dom-id-972590d261676639ecbce60bb5ce7ce39f59c383bde3160fb5954482ff882146"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="item-list"> <ul> <li><div class="views-field views-field-nothing"><span class="field-content"><a href="https://al-bab.com/gaza-other-war"> <div class="blue-box-container Blue"> <div class="box-image-container"> </div> <div class="box-title-container Yellow"> <h2>Gaza the other war</h2> </div> <div class="box-sub-title-container White"> A collection of blog posts related to the Gaza war – not so much about the war itself but about the public discourse outside Israel/Palestine. </div> </div> </a></span></div></li> <li><div class="views-field views-field-nothing"><span class="field-content"><a href="https://www.al-bab.com/denying-the-obvious"> <div class="blue-box-container Yellow"> <div class="box-image-container"> </div> <div class="box-title-container Black"> <h2>Denying the Obvious</h2> </div> <div class="box-sub-title-container Black"> Brian Whitaker's new e-book tells the story of the disinformation campaign surrounding chemical weapons attacks in Syria: how it began, the ideas that drove it, and how it was choreographed with assistance from Russia. Read it online or download a PDF. </div> </div> </a></span></div></li> <li><div class="views-field views-field-nothing"><span class="field-content"><a href="https://al-bab.com/blog/2016/02/transgender-issues-middle-east-1"> <div class="blue-box-container Blue"> <div class="box-image-container"> </div> <div class="box-title-container Yellow"> <h2>Transgender rights in the Middle East</h2> </div> <div class="box-sub-title-container White"> In a region where gender segregation is widespread and dress codes are sometimes enforced by law, the problems of transgender people are especially acute. Read al-bab's four-part special report. </div> </div> </a></span></div></li> <li><div class="views-field views-field-nothing"><span class="field-content"><a href="https://al-bab.com/degrees-deception"> <div class="blue-box-container Yellow"> <div class="box-image-container"> </div> <div class="box-title-container Black"> <h2>Degrees of deception</h2> </div> <div class="box-sub-title-container Black"> Fake qualifications – forged certificates or "degrees" issued by unrecognised universities – are proliferating in many parts of the world, and especially in the Middle East. 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