A ruler who makes law objectively subordinates himself to that law.

Evidence

Throughout the document it is implied that here is a law which is above the King and which even he must not break. This reaffirmation of a supreme law and its expression in a general charter is the great work of Magna Carta; and this alone justifies the respect in which men have held it. — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 398 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Now for the first time the King himself is bound by the law. The root principle was destined to survive across the generations and rise paramount long after the feudal background of 1215 had faded in the past. The Charter became in the process of time an enduring witness that the power of the Crown was not absolute. — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 399 (#expands, via linked claim)

Often when we obey a speed limit we are driving at a speed that is not the same as what we think is the best speed given the traffic, the driving conditions, and our own driving skills. Consequently, to obey a speed limit is to do something we do not think best. Similarly, making a decision just because the same decision has been made before-following precedent-gets interesting primarily when we would otherwise have made a different decision. The parent who gives the younger child the same privileges at the same age as an older child feels the pull of precedent only when he or she otherwise thinks there is a good reason for treating the two differently, and so being constrained by precedent is again a path away from what had otherwise seemed to be the right decision. And we say we are obeying or following an authority only if what we are doing because of what the authority has said is not the same as what we would have done if left to our own devices to make the decision we thought best. The soldier who follows an order might well do something else if allowed to make his or her own unguided (or uncommanded) decision, just as the obedient student or child is one who suppresses his or her own desires to do something else. — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 15 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Obeying rules, precedent, and authority means deciding against one’s own best judgment. — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 15; The root principle of law above the King has enduring significance. — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 399; Magna Carta established the principle of law above the King. — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 398 (+5 more)

Related

• Obeying rules, precedent, and authority means deciding against one’s own best judgment. (similarity 0.82)
• The root principle of law above the King has enduring significance. (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• The root principle of law above the King has enduring significance. #expands (0.85) — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 399
• Magna Carta established the principle of law above the King. #exemplifies (0.85) — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 398
• Obeying rules, precedent, and authority means deciding against one’s own best judgment. #qualifies (0.75) — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 15
• Mehmed Ali faced constraints that forced him to deviate from his own regulations #exemplifies (0.75)