that all people – rich or poor, powerful or weak – should respect the law and be equal before the law. The ideal is expressed in different ways as a concept, value, ideal, principle with a range of cultures going back at least as far as the riverine civilization of Babylon. It has been developed to become a central ideal in systems of protection against tyrannical power. The law is respected by all and applies equally to all and entails that the highest officers of the state will be investigated and prosecuted in the same courts of law, within the same jurisdiction, penal code and procedure, and by the same judges, as anyone else. The rule of law is not only a high ideal, but also a method of daily governance; it regulates the separation and independence of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of power, and as such it is a solid guardian against potential arbitrariness of rulers, against temptation to abuse power and violate citizens’ rights. The ‘rule of law, not of men’ elevates the law above the rulers, requires that every official obeys the rules, and this supremacy of the law above the powerful and the rich of the day is crucial in the fight against tyranny, corruption, criminality and is an indispensable part of good governance. The rule of law demands that the laws are clear, consistent, stable, accepted and known by all; that the institutions are transparent, accountable, efficient and legitimate; that the tribunals are independent, impartial, unbiased, and issues fair judgments. However, if the rule of law ideal is generally understood and in many cases established at the national level, at the international level the concept is still in its infancy. However, there are many who want it to grow, mature and strengthen. They have been boosted by the 2005 declaration of the United Nations General Assembly supporting not only the rule of law in domestic affairs but the rule of law in international affairs. The United Nations and its University have been particularly active in pursuing this agenda. In 2006, Nicolas Michel, then United Nations General Counsel and Under Secretary-General for Legal Affairs approached Ramesh Thakur, then Senior Vice Rector of the United Nations University (UNU), about the best ways to promote the international rule of law. Ramesh and I contacted Charles Sampford, a distinguished international lawyer and Director of the Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law (IEGL) established as a joint initiative of the UNU and Griffith University at his instigation in 2004. Sampford prepared a range of proposals and we determined the scope and methodology of how to pursue this project.