The Rule of law and Populism

Ian McDougall, EVP & General Counsel, LexisNexis, USA

I will discuss two concepts; the rule of law and populism. Specifically, I want to look at the effect of one on the other. I should point out that these are my personal views but I hope still valuable despite that. Like all lawyers, I like to start by defining things. It’s important to understand exactly what we mean. There are as many definitions of the rule of law as there are people who have considered the rule of law. I often say if I asked 7 lawyers to define the Rule of Law I get 8 different definitions. In fact some institutions, for example the United Nations, seem to produce a different definition every time they look at the subject. The Rule of Law appeared in the Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Two further reports on the subject issued by the UN in 2002 & 2004 discuss the point. Another point, apart from the multiple definitions point, is that their results demonstrate the difficulty that a non-historical approach leads us to. The first one refers to

Ian McDougall is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the LexisNexis, Legal & Professional division of RELX Group. Mr. McDougall joined LexisNexis in 2004 as Vice President and Legal Director for LexisNexis International (LNI), where he oversaw the legal function for the group, including Regulatory Compliance, Commercial Agreements, IT, Intellectual Property and Litigation. Mr. McDougall was also involved in business strategy, acquisitions and general business planning. At LexisNexis, Mr. McDougall has stepped into varying roles, including Interim HR Director for LNI and Interim Managing Director for LexisNexis New Zealand. In addition, he led the LexisNexis implementation of the U.K. Bribery Act compliance and created the organization’s first broad regulatory compliance review program. Before joining LexisNexis, he led Legal, HR and Facilities departments at Telco Global Ltd., previously one of the largest U.K. Independent telecom providers. Mr. McDougall also acted as Chief European Counsel and Group Company Secretary for Hughes Electronics, a former subsidiary of General Motors Corp. Prior to that, Mr. McDougall served in various legal leadership roles for a number of technology and finance organizations; he also has extensive private practice experience. Mr. McDougall sits on the United Nations Rule of Law Steering Committee and is a member of the UN General Counsel Advisory Board. Until Mr. McDougall’s move to New York he was a Board Director and Trustee for U.K. Charity Peaceful Place, which is dedicated to providing support to sufferers of early-onset dementia. He was also appointed as judge in the Barrister’s Disciplinary Tribunal and is a broadcast cricket commentator in association with the Royal National Institute for the Blind. Mr. McDougall is based in New York.

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