Marxism and The Rule of Law

Abstract

The revival of interest in Marxist legal analysis has prompted a reconsideration of the function of the concept of the rule of law. Appreciation of the rule of law as an instrument of legitimation of the economic and political order has assumed particular significance in Canada due to the recent enactment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In this article the author examines the two aspects in which the rule of law may be said to exist - the democratic and the juridical - and through the application of Marxist analysis to several recent political events demonstrates the relationship of the rule of law to developments in the politico-legal system characteristic of late capitalism.