Justice Breyer on the rule of law

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said Saturday that the major division in the world is between people committed to resolving disputes through a system of laws and those who are not.

Breyer, addressing an American Bar Association meeting, praised the group's volunteer effort to train lawyers and judges around the world to adhere to the rule of law, despite changing political environments.

After the September 11, 2001, attacks, Breyer said: "I began to see that the true division of importance in the world is not between different countries. The important division is between those who are committed to reason, to working out things, to understanding other people, to peaceful resolution of their differences...and those who don't think that."