the territorial integrity and political independence of the State, the freedom of each State to choose and develop its own political, social, economic and cultural systems, and the duty of States to comply fully and in good faith with their international obligations and to live in peace with other States.15.
The "rule of law" was defined by the International Commission of Jurists in an international gathering consisting of over 185 Judges, lawyers and law professors from 53 countries who met in New Delhi and made a Declaration as to the fundamental of the rule of law, called the Declaration of Delhi. It was declared that the rule of law implies certain rights and freedoms, that it implies an independent judiciary and that it implies social, economic and cultural conditions conducive to human dignity16. Several definitions of the rule of law have also been debated recently. For instance, the International Bar Association defined the rule of law as "Independent, impartial judiciary, the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair and public trial without undue delay; a rational and proportionate approach to punishment; a strong and independent legal profession; strict confidential communications between lawyer and client; equality of all before the law; these are all fundamental principles of the rule of law"17. And the Universal Declaration on Human Rights 1948 in its preamble stated that ".it is essential, if man is not compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against a tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by rule of law"18. The UN Secretary General Koffi Annan on his part defined that rule of law as "a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities.including the state itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and.which are consistent with international human rights norms and standard.
