In this paper, I shall address the important role of the rule of law as an ideal of political morality. I will be outlining the virtues and limits of the rule of law. My central thesis is that the rule of law is crucial for the moral legitimacy of a political system and for an open society, understood in the Popperian sense. Its limits, however, are similar to the limits of positive law in general. Ultimately, the virtues of the rule of law depend on the moral virtues of people and on the moral quality of positive law. In this respect, the benefits of the rule of law ultimately depend on natural moral law and its realization in human affairs.

U članku autor govori o važnosti uloge vladavine prava kao ideal političkog morala te opisuje vrline i granice vladavine prava. Središnja je teza da je vladavina prava vrlo važna za moralni legitimitet političkog sustava, kao i za otvoreno društvo, u popperijnskom smislu. Međutim, njegove granice općenito su nalik na granice pozitivnog prava. Konačno, vrline vladavine prava ovise o moralnim vrlinama ljudi i o moralnim kvalitetama pozitivnog prava. U tom smislu, korisnost vladavine prava u konačnici ovisi o prirodnom moralnom pravu i o njegovu ostvarenju u ljudskim zbivanjima.