Who popularised the phrase "rule of law"?

The person who popularized the phrase "rule of law" was Albert Venn Dicey (1835–1922). Albert Venn Dicey usually referred to A. V. Dicey, was a British Whig jurist and constitutional law theorist. He is most widely known as the author of 'Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution' (1885). The principles it expounds are considered part of the uncodified British constitution.

Dicey became Vinerian Professor of English Law at Oxford University and was one of the leading constitutional scholars of his day. Dicey popularised the phrase "rule of law" while teaching students in England. He then noted that "The Law of the Constitution" elucidates the guiding principles of the modern constitution of England: the legislative sovereignty of Parliament, the rule of law (equal justice), and the binding force of unwritten conventions. Additionally, he noted that law and its use within society dated back to the 17th century, if not earlier.

During his life, Dicey established himself as a great expert on constitutional history. His writings have achieved almost canonical status, and his views are judged almost entirely on what he wrote and an extensive series of lectures he delivered in the late 1890s where he focused on the sovereignty of Parliament, the relationship between Parliament and the people, and the role of constitutional conventions.

Dicey was born near Lutterworth, Leicestershire, England and lived his entire life in the UK. He died at 87 in Oxford.