Equality before the law

Equality before the law, also known as legal equality or legal egalitarianism, is the principle that all people must be equally protected by the law and that no individual or group is privileged over others. It requires a systematic rule of law that observes due process and provides equal protection, and it is one of the basic principles of some definitions of liberalism. The principle is incompatible with systems such as slavery, servitude, colonialism, oligarchy, aristocracy, or absolute monarchy.

The concept has deep historical roots. The ancient Chinese legalist philosopher Guan Zhong declared that both monarch and subjects, regardless of their status, must comply with the law to achieve great order. In Athens, Pericles’ funeral oration praised the equality of free male citizens under the law, noting that laws afforded equal justice in private disputes and that social advancement depended on merit rather than class or poverty. The Bible also contains a directive that the same laws and regulations apply to both native-born Israelites and foreigners residing among them. In the nineteenth century, the U.S. state of Nebraska adopted "Equality Before the Law" as its motto, appearing on its flag and seal, to symbolize the rejection of slavery and the extension of voting rights to Black men from statehood; activists later used the motto to advocate for other groups, including LGBT rights. The South African Freedom Charter of 1955 demanded that all shall be equal before the law. In Japan, the Supreme Court declared the penalty for parricide under the Criminal Code unconstitutional for violating equality under the law, a decision stemming from the Tochigi patricide case. Philosophers such as John Locke and Alexander Hamilton argued for a natural state of equality among humans, with no one having inherent authority over another unless voluntarily granted. Herbert Spencer defined equality before the law as a natural law granting each person the fullest liberty to exercise their faculties as long as it does not infringe on the equal liberty of others. Feminism has also embraced this principle, though some later views hold that formal legal equality alone is insufficient to achieve actual social equality between women and men, as it may penalize women for not conforming to male norms or reinforce stereotypes through different treatment.