United Nations Rule of Law, Essay Example

There are many problems that have historically confused our concepts of that which we in the West call the “rule of law” (Nader). After the fall of the Iron Curtain, new Western free market-style business opportunities opened up alongside opportunities and requirements for legal reform.  Reform was needed in certain newly free countries to create a rule of law that governmental bodies and venture capitalists could have faith in to the extent of lending money in the hopes of being paid back or keeping a share of profits earned (Kennedy). A further distinction lies in what are called developing countries (Mechlem) that inhabit the Third World. They have their own unique problems which may be independent of the fall of the Soviet Union. (There is also China, a country which is communist in principle and yet capitalist in action.) Some countries seek out “legal transplants” — bringing in a whole new system of law from the outside — in the way that some countries have “dollarized” their economies by eliminating their own currency and just using the U.S. dollar. Legal transplants have in mind the establishment of market economies that can reduce transaction costs (Castellani) — a view that might argue that the Euro is a kind of First World legal transplant. Overseeing much of this wave and counter-wave of international vs. national law and reform is the United Nations, which has 135 separate indicators that attempt to measure a client-nation’s rule of law (UN). They are founded on the principle that “the usefulness of indicators lies in their simplicity” while acknowledging that too much simplicity can “mask important differences.” Clearly, the UN’s effort is a work in progress, as the process of nation building and nation overturning will continue indefinitely.

Works Cited

Castellani, Luca G. The role of international financial institutions in legal. Legal. New York: NYU School of Law, 2002. Document.

Kennedy, David. “Laws and Developments.” Contemplating Complexity: Law and Development in the 21st Century. New York: Cavendish Publishing, 2002. Book.

Mechlem, Kerstin. “Legal Reform in Developing Countries.” Dethier and Jean-Jacques. Governance, Decentralization and Reform in China, India, and Russia. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000. 311-338. Book.

Nader, Laura. “Promise or Plunder? A Past and Future Look at Law and Development.” Global Jurist (2007). Document.

2011. The UN Rule of Law Indicators. New York: United Nations, 2011. Document.