Laws should bind their own maker.

Explanation

A legislature is bound by the laws it enacts — government officers cannot exempt themselves from statutes that bind the People, and any claim of sovereign immunity must yield to the principle that the lawmaker is the first subject of the law.

Where this applies

• Congress exempts itself from workplace safety laws it imposes on every private employer, and a challenge is brought arguing that lawmakers must be bound by their own laws.
• A state legislature passes a strict environmental regulation but exempts state-owned facilities, and citizens sue on the ground that the law's makers should be its first subjects.
• A city council enacts an anti-discrimination ordinance but exempts its own hiring practices, and an applicant argues the council cannot exempt itself from the rules it imposes on everyone else.