From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgoverning principlegoverning principleMAINa principle that has the most important influence on something Freedom of speech is one of the governing principles in a democracy. → governing
Examples from the Corpus
governing principle• Complex protocol demanded that Court dress conform to a set of governing principles.• Just as a ship needs a captain, so too does the individual need a governing principle.• Freedom of speech for all is one of the governing principles in a democracy.• But the same three macro-functions are the governing principles of stylistic choice in both literary and non-literary language. 