[zck]

Well, a government has to follow its own laws. For example, the U.S. government could conceivably bring its troops into a house under gunpoint and have them sleep the night there. It wouldn't be legal, since it's directly against the Third Amendment.

[ugh]

That's what's called rule of law and it is, regretably, not as common as one might think.

Especially dictatorships often had and have some kind of law that allows the dictator to do anything. You could call it rule of law minus one. One person who is exempted from the rule of law is enough to bring the whole system down. Strange, how fickle the rule of law seems to be.

[mattm]

"When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal" - Richard Nixon

[jrockway]

"It all depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is." - Bill Clinton.

[anigbrowl]

A republican or democratic (small-r/d) government does. North Korea essentially has government by fiat, and its parliament is purely decorative.