The rule of law as a universal standard and sign of civilized legal system, a complex phenomenon which contains ideal and the real measurements is regarded in the article. A double extension of the rule of law idea is carried out: as a rule of law society and as a legal world outlook. Philosophical core of this outlook is the image of man as an individual possessing an ontological and axiological priority, as well as orientation on the skepticism with respect to the current government and belief in the possibility of regulatory deter of arbitrary power. Focusing on the predictability and transparency of the activities of state bodies and other subjects of law, the rule of law acts as the embodiment of reason in legal regulation. However, it has also a sensual-emotional side, which manifests itself in the process of justification and is expressed in terms of specific issues in the implementation of the rule of law idea in different cultures. For societies that have yet only to seek to establish the rule of law, the determining factor is the existential decision about person’s own identity as a subject capable in his behavioral patterns to carry out the requirements of this principle. Ukrainian experience of the rule of law is controversial. In Ukraine there are no cultural barriers to the recognition of the rule of law and organization of social behavior in accordance with it. However, there are some objective and subjective circumstances, which impede this process. The traditional obstacles to justify the rule of law, which have predominantly ideological character, include situational complexities related to the war, the political and economic crisis.