to date, the term “rule of law” has been used primarily in the english-speaking countries. the originally german doctrine of rechtsstaat is similar, and has been translated into other languages of continental europe as "état de droit" (fr.), "estado de derecho" (sp.), "stato di diritto" (it.), and "правовое государство" (ru.). rechsstaat can be translated into english as “legal state” or "constitutional state".