Cutting through the customs of times, the fundamental axiom of all law is to protect one party (those “unculpable”) from violation by another party.
Various stages of philosophical evolution exist throughout humanity, ours purports a mechanism of statutes around problematic ideas.
There is this phrase, “the spirit of [the] law”. In paper law that means what the original declaration meant to those invoking it. By a “righteous rule of law”, it is to “protect the innocent from breach by will or neglect.”
Custom (“precedent”) establishes what that means. A continuum of persistence by popular intent is essential to ensure coherence for their time.
The myth is that a righteous rule of law may ever stand without vigilant competence among those who enjoy its luxury. It cannot be someone else’s problem forever.