A Study On Edward Coke's Thoughts Of Rule Of Law

England is the first country which established the modern society of rule of law in the world. Edward Coke's thoughts of rule of law played the very important role in this historical course. Therefore, on the basic of analyzing Coke's works and judicial actions as well as parliamentary actions, the study of Coke's thoughts of rule of law will deepen our comprehending on rule of law in theory, which also could be beneficial to comprehend the making of the constitutional government and the modern society of rule of law.Coke's thoughts of rule of law included the thought of the supremacy of common law, the king under law, the sovereign of parliament and the liberties of subjects. The thought of the supremacy of common law was the foundation of the others. In practice, the supremacy of common law was the prerequisite and guarantee of realizing the king under law, establishing the sovereign of parliament and maintaining the liberties of subjects. The core of Coke's thoughts of rule of law was preserving the supremacy of common law in order to limit the kingship and maintain the rights of subjects. It is the essence of the modern constitutionalism that limiting power and maintaining rights by the law. Coke's thoughts of rule of law became the significant sources in the development of the constitutional government and the modern society of rule of law.There are three parts in the dissertation. The first part is the Introduction, which not only expounds the sense of this topic and reviews the history of studies on this topic of domestic and overseas scholars, but also introduces the methods and documents of the dissertation. The second part is the principal part of the dissertation, which includes four chapters. Chapter 1 discusses Coke's thought of the supremacy of common law, which contains the development history of common law, the artificial reason of common law and the resisting the prerogative courts. Chapter 2 discusses Coke's thought of the king under law, which contains the making of the tradition of the limited monarchy and rule of law and Coke's thought of the king under law in analyzing Magna Carta. Chapter 3 discusses Coke's thought of the sovereign of parliament, which contains the most honorable position of the parliament, the separation of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, the formation of the principle of "King in Parliament" and the liberties and privileges of the House of Commons. Chapter 4 discusses Coke's thought of the liberties of subjects, which contains the liberty of production and trade, personal freedom and the property right. Chapter 5 discusses the historical contribution and influence of Coke's thoughts of rule of law. It expounds that parliament and the community of lawyers of common law struggled with despotism for long time. In the end, Glorious Revolution was completed successfully, constitutional monarchy was established, courts and judges gained the independence really. So England established the morden society of rule of law. The third part is the conclusion. It sums up Coke's thoughts of rule of law, expounds the characteristic, evolution and historical influence of Coke's thoughts of rule of law.