The high regard for the adoption of the law of rule and the effect thereof on economic development in a state is graphically illustrated by the fact that during the first half of the 1990s more than a billion dollars was spent on rule of law projects in every conceivable corner of the globe. This new ‘rule of law’ surge were driven by a host of organisations, such as private foundations, NGOs, state agencies, the World Bank and initiatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The rebirth of the rule of law

This renewed upsurge in emphasising the rule of law was predominantly driven by an economic development rational. The World Bank stated in this regard that ‘the key to any market system is the reliance on a fair and credible legal framework’ (World Bank 1994: 1). The renewed emphasis on the rule of law, which includes inter alia, a bill of rights and the adoption of a specialised constitutional court, has undoubtedly played a major role in the political and economic reconstruction of post-conflict countries. The World Bank and other global role players placed strong emphasis, not only the importance of the rule of law, but also how the rule of law potentially could promote and facilitate economic reform and development in a state. Although the Law and Development phase of the 1960s and 1970s was largely a US initiative, the development of this initiative has increased dramatically. The World Bank and various NGOs stimulated the renewed interest into a global undertaking and the rebuilding of legal systems and the adoption of the rule of law are therefore much more nuanced than before (Samuels 2006: 1).

This renewed wave of constitutional reconstruction created fundamental global changes with over 65 per cent of the 188 member states of the United Nations (UN) who made major amendments to their constitutions in the decade between 1989 and 1999. Almost one quarter of these member states included a bill of rights and some form of judicial constitutional review in their constitutions (Klüg 2001: 8).