Does and Should the Law Depend on Moral Values?

The law is a group of rules made by the state to regulate human conduct within that specific state. There are different types of rules; private rules, moral rules, natural rules and legal rules. Morality is defined by “conforming to conventionally acceptable standards of conduct”. A moral rule is whereby an act is deemed offensive to a certain type of person within society. An example of this could be committing adultery; certain people in society will perceive adultery as morally wrong but it is not a crime under the English criminal law.

There are three main rules of law; two are called substantive laws which coincide with society’s moral values.

1. Rules that forbid certain types of behavior under threat of state punishments, this is a rule (crime) but the majority of society would recognise that, for example, stealing off another human being is wrong, and therefore corresponds with society’s morals.

2. Rules that require compensation to be paid by those who may cause damage or loss to others by infringing their legal rights (civil wrongs) but again, likewise, certain people in society would perceive such things as breaching a contract to be wrong.

Rules of law must be acceptable to the majority of society, if they are not then society will make their views clear and pressurise Parliament to change the rule. As England is a democracy and society have their right to vote, if a rule is not morally acceptable then society will turn against the government that are in control and vote against them in the next General Election.

Rules of law must also be free from corruption and this is why the majority of court hearings are held in public so as to show they are trustworthy.

They must also be adaptable to change, society is evermore changing and so the rules that govern that society must be able to change with it, if they do not then the rules are therefore not accepted and the above process is inevitably going to happen.