Rule of Law:A Basic Principle of the European Union

European Union/European Community is the first international organization based on principle of rule of law and implements this principle in practice.Rule of law has been one of the basic principles of the EU.Two major factors have contributed to the development of rule of law principle in the EU:one is the basic treaties of the EU providing the legal and institutional basis for the development of the principle,and the other is the European Court of Justice that has played a pivotal role in the development.This paper discusses the treaty basis of the principle,the role of the European Court of Justice and some characteristics of the practice of rule of law in the EU including some universal natures of rule of law as well as some specialties.