Comment le droit biblique crée-t-il l'"État de droit" le plus fort possible?

⮜ Questions avec réponses

Comment le droit biblique protège la (vraie) liberté mieux que tout autre système juridique

"L'État de droit" est une expression qui est souvent utilisée de manière vague, généralement lorsque quelqu'un n'est pas satisfait de ce que fait un gouvernement. Il existe trois aspects de l'État de droit (selon, en gros, A.V. Dicey):

1. "L'État de droit, pas les hommes" : Vous ne pouvez pas être accusé d'un crime à moins qu'il n'y ait une loi dans les livres de loi faisant de ce que vous avez fait un crime.
2. Tout le monde, y compris les fonctionnaires, est soumis à la même loi.
3. Certains principes fondamentaux (droits, libertés, etc.) ne peuvent être modifiés ou supprimés par le législateur (ou les juges).

et aux trois précédentes de Dicey, il faut ajouter

4. Toutes les procédures judiciaires sont ouvertes au public pour examen.

En fonction de leur nombre, on peut dire qu'il existe un État de droit "fort" ou un État de droit "faible" (ou inexistant).

Prenons un exemple de gouvernement - les États-Unis - et voyons comment il est à la hauteur.

1. Il est généralement vrai aux États-Unis que vous ne pouvez pas être accusé d'un crime à moins qu'il n'y ait une loi en vigueur. Bien entendu, comme il existe environ 500 000 lois, qui couvrent à peu près tous les aspects de vos activités, cela ne pose pas de problème à quelqu'un qui veut vous poursuivre. Robert H. Jackson est un ancien procureur général des États-Unis et juge à la Cour suprême. Il a écrit:

Les livres de droit étant remplis d'une grande variété de crimes, un procureur a de bonnes chances de trouver au moins une violation technique d'un acte de la part de presque tout le monde. Dans un tel cas, il ne s'agit pas de découvrir la commission d'un crime et de rechercher ensuite l'homme qui l'a commis, mais de choisir l'homme et de le rechercher dans les livres de droit, ou de mettre les enquêteurs au travail, afin de lui imputer un délit. C'est dans ce domaine - où le procureur choisit une personne qu'il n'aime pas ou qu'il souhaite embarrasser, ou sélectionne un groupe de personnes impopulaires et recherche ensuite un délit - que réside le plus grand danger d'abus de pouvoir en matière de poursuites. C'est là que l'application de la loi devient personnelle, et le véritable crime devient celui d'être impopulaire auprès du groupe prédominant ou dirigeant, d'être attaché à de mauvaises opinions politiques, ou d'être personnellement odieux envers le procureur lui-même, ou à sa manière.

Au fait, Robert Jackson a écrit ceci en 1940. Vous pensez que les choses se sont améliorées ? Lisez le livre Three Felonies a Day de Harvey Silverglate.

2. Unfortunately, government officials in the United States are routinely exempted from their own legislation, protected by immunity (e.g. "prosecutorial immunity") for various actions they take in office, and are often treated more lightly than other citizens for equivalent law violations.

3. Some rights/liberties are protected better than others. But ask any U.S. citizen: “do you feel confident that your rights are protected by the law, against a future Congress or Supreme Court session?” I think I know what answer you will get.

4. Most judicial proceedings in the United States are open to the public, however some are not.

Biblical Law: The origin and apex of the rule of law

It might surprise you to learn that Biblical law was the first known formulation of the “rule of law.” It was also the strongest ever formulation. No other law code has matched it. Look at the following restrictions on the king, taken from the book of Deuteronomy: 18 It shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write himself a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the Levitical priests. 19 It shall be with him, and he shall read from it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear YHWH his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them; 20 that his heart not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he not turn away from the commandment to the right hand, or to the left, to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the middle of Israel. Deuteronomy 17:18-20WEB

This law — that the king (and, by extension, any civil government official) is himself subject to the law — was "unique in the ancient Near East". Why?

The surrounding pagan cultures claimed that kings are the source of law. Scripture, however, claims that YHWH is the source of law.

In his book Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought, Joshua Berman writes:

Alone among the literary works of the ancient Near East, the Hebrew Bible maintains that the law is of divine origin.

Combine this with the prohibition on adding to, or subtracting from, the law, and you have the strongest possible “rule of law” formulation: 1 Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and to the ordinances which I teach you, to do them, that you may live and go in and possess the land which YHWH, the God of your fathers, gives you. 2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of YHWH your God which I command you. Deuteronomy 4:1-2WEB

This is how you guarantee true liberty:

1. You give families and individuals a broad mandate to do anything they want (which doesn't break the law) in order to subdue the earth (Gen. 1:28).
2. You enumerate (and thereby limit) the powers of civil government to prosecute only the crimes written in the law (i.e. the judicial case laws).
3. You require at least two actual eyewitnesses in order to bring any prosecution (Deut. 19:15).
4. You don't give the judge (or the prosecutor) any discretion to "threaten" additional charges or "bargain" with the truth of the defendant's plea (Deut. 5:32, Deut. 17:19-20, Deut. 28:14).For further discussion, see sec:11022.
5. You command: “don't add anything to this law and don't take anything away,” (Deut. 4:2). There can be no legislation that creates or removes either crimes or civil government powers, period.
6. You require that no part of the civil justice system happens “in secret.” Everyone can scrutinize whether the judicial process is fair and in accordance with Biblical law.

Your rights will always be guaranteed (as long as you follow Biblical law). If an action is not already prohibited, then it is legal. It may be unwise and even unsafe, but as long as you don't harm someone else (or violate an existing law), you cannot be stopped.

For example, under Biblical law, the civil government is never allowed to:

1. Conscript you to participate in any warfare
2. Force you to testify against anyone or torture you to extract a confession
3. Regulate, prohibit, tax, or impose price controls on any voluntary economic exchange (obviously theft and fraud are still redressable)
4. Force you to get permission from the government to enter into any contract
5. Regulate or penalize the smoking, eating, or drinking of any substance (although you are liable for any crimes you may commit while under the influence of that substance)
6. Force you to give “charity” to anyone
7. Force you to send your children to a government school
8. Force you to get permission from the church or civil government in order to get married.
9. Force you to use a particular form of money for business transactions
10. Force you to do business with anyone (or vice versa)
11. Prohibit you from defending yourself or your family against attack, using deadly force, if necessary

Notice that there are no scripture references beside each item? That's because we're talking about things that the civil government doesn't have any scriptural authority to do. And there is no “general authority to do whatever” type of clause hiding in the details. Why? Because God had just brought his people out from under Egyptian tyranny, and he never wanted them to return to it: Deut. 17:16.

Under Biblical law, the civil government can bring justice in the case of specifically enumerated crimes (as long as two actual witnesses step forward to testify). It can also act to organize a (volunteer) military response to defend against an external threat. But it has no arbitrary authority to order citizens around and regulate their behavior.

Some people are so used to slavery, they might object that this seems “too permissive.” And that is why they are not the Legislators and never will be. Biblical civil law maximizes liberty within the constraints of God's justice. Modern states try to maximize a variety of things ("social justice," corporate profits, special interest giveaways, central government power, prison capacity, etc), but liberty is not one of those things.

If you are head of a household, and want to make your own household rules that prohibit certain things, that is fine. But you don't have the authority (under Biblical law) to impose your own personal rules on other households.

And if Biblical civil law disturbs you, don't worry. You don't have to live under it. Scripture makes clear that the kingdom of God is never spread by the use of force. Everyone living under a godly civil government will volunteer (happily) to put themselves and their property under its jurisdiction: Ex. 19:3-8, Deut. 24:3-8, Matt. 20:25-26.