The Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE) is the first higher education institution in Cambodia. It was originally founded in 1949 as the National Institute of Law and Economics, and then it was renamed as the Faculty of Law and Economic Sciences and integrated into the University of Phnom Penh in 1957.

Unfortunately, the university was closed during the Khmer Rouge Regime (1975-1979), and re-opened in 1982 as the Administrative and Judicial School. In 1992, the School was renamed the Faculty of Law.

In 1994, it was named again as the Faculty of Law and Economics and integrated into the Royal University of Phnom Penh under the control of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport.

In 2003, the Faculty was re-organized with university status and named the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE). RULE became a public administrative institution by Sub-decree No. 89 ANK/BK dated July 27, 2007.
RULE currently has four faculties (the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Public Administration, the Faculty of Economics and Management, and the Faculty of Informatic Economics), the Graduate Program has three centers (the Center of Law Research, the Center of Economics Research, and the Research and Education Center for Japanese law), and the English Language Institute.