刑无等级

Punishments Should Know No Degree or Grade

法律面前没有高低贵贱之分,是战国时期商鞅提出的法思想。商鞅认为法律应具有最高权威,无论何人违反君令国法,都应毫无例外予以惩处。商鞅此举在于反对贵族特权,加强君主绝对权威,以推动变法。“刑无等级”与现代法治精神有相通之处。

There is neither lowliness nor nobleness before the law.This is a legal thought put forward by Shang Yang during the Warring States Period.Shang Yang held that law should have supreme authority and that whoever violates the ruler's order and the state law shall be punished without exception.His purpose was to oppose the privileges of the nobility and strengthen the absolute authority of the king,so as to promote political reform.The thought has something in common with the modern spirit of the rule of law.