Jiang-Bi-Xin
.
2013, 0(4):
1-10.
To carry forward the spirit of rule-of-law is a strategic task of managing state affairs according to law. But broad divergences exist in the understanding of the attribution and connotation of the spirit of rule-of-law in both the academia and practice. Based on the comparation from the perspectives of ultimacy, consistence with the context, functionality, coverage, and so on, it is revealed that the objectivity should be the basic attribute of the spirit of rule-of-law. The framework principles judging the spirit of rule-of-law include comprehensiveness, inherence, openness, and purposiveness, while the methodological position refining the connotation of the spirit of rule-of-law should be based on a dialectical view of the rule-of-law. According to the above-mentioned principles and methodological position, the content of the spirit of rule-of-law can be determined as the following six groups value of kernels which both complement and restrict each other: governance of rule vs. good governance with good law; freedom and human rights vs. equality and harmony;official and people co-governance vs. universal law-abiding; performing responsibilities actively vs. restricting the public power; punishing the evil and praising the good vs. taking people as the foremost; fairness and justice vs. effectiveness and efficiency. The spirit of rule-of-law, as both the core value of the rule of law and the soul that runs through all the links of it, is not only the rational basis of building institutions, scientific guide to carry out the task, and so on, but also contributes to the perfection of legal system and the acquisition of legal knowledge. To carry forward the socialistic spirit of rule-of-law, it is necessary to internalize the whole people’s understanding of it, pursue the support of ethics, enforce the institutional justice, perfect the coordination of benefits, consolidate the political foundation and optimalize the feedback mechanism.