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In terms of Afghanistan's rule of law, understanding the constitution of Afghanistan does not identify a clear definition: It is not mentioned explicitly in the normative part of the Constitution, but, rather, only in the Preamble of the Constitution. Although the preamble itself does not share the legally binding character of the Constitution since it is a compilation of motives rather than concrete rights or obligations it, nevertheless, offers guidance for the interpretation of the text of the Constitution. The rule of law is, therefore, established as a constitutional principle (Moschtaghi 2009: 22; for an overview on the judiciary and the justice system see Wardak 2008).
A proposed definition, derived from a review of the existing body of literature, as well as extensive consultations and interviews conducted, states that "for Afghans, the rule of law refers to all those state and non-state institutions that promote justice and human development through the application of public rules that are deemed fair, applied independently, enforced equally, and consistent with human rights principles." It encompasses public institutions, institutional processes, and rules dealing with four fundamental dimensions; namely, (1) independence of the rule of law institutions, (2) public and fair trials, (3) equal enforcement, and (4) consistency with human rights principles. Furthermore, the definition embraces and encourages the coexistence of the three major legal traditions in Afghanistan today: Islamic shar'īa (interpretations), Western (mainly French) positive law and legal thought, as well as customary law (Barfield 2008: 351; Soboory 2005). Those four dimensions of the (proposed) Afghan definition of the rule of law are assessed against the limited body of qualitative and quantitative data available in today's Afghanistan. Special stress is placed on the key justice institutions, such as the judiciary, the police, the attorney general's office (lu-ye tsārnvāli) and prison system - key institutions for promoting the rule of law. (Their institutional attributes and the links among them as a system have been assessed in terms of such factors as the number of qualified police, judges, prosecutors, and prison officers who have received training; the level of the rehabilitation of courts and prisons; the level of functioning (and effectiveness) of these institutions; and their perception by ordinary Afghans have been used as indicators of the level of the (re-)-establishment of the rule of law in Afghanistan. Cf. Wardak/Saba et al. 2007: 43, and 45 table 2.1).
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