Law 421: The Role Of Law
The Role of Law
LAW/421
August 6, 2012
Michael S. Green
The Role of Law
Laws are “the body of rules or principles, prescribed by authority or established by custom, that a state, community, society, or other group recognizes as binding on its members” (Ferguson Publishing, 1999, p. 105). The purposes of laws are to maintain peace and order, to define the rights of citizens, to secure justice, to harmonize conflicting interests, and to provide means for punishing wrongdoers. Laws are applied and interpreted by courts. The courts do not seek out law-breakers but hear only those cases brought before them by private citizens or by the executive branch of the government. The enforcement of laws, therefore, is an administrative, rather than judicial function.
Kinds of Law
There are two basic kinds of law, substantive and procedural. Substantive law creates primary rights and obligations of individuals. It concerns both persons and property. Laws that define crimes and those that define rights (such as the rights of a person owning property or making a contract) are examples of …show more content…
Procedural law provides the methods by which rights guaranteed or obligations place on persons by substantive law are protected and enforced. Indictments, warrants, and writs are among the legal forms dealt with in procedural law.
In addition to these two basic kinds of law, there are various fields of law; each dealing with a different subject matter. Each field makes use of both substantive and procedural law. These fields include criminal, civil, administrative, and various other types of law. Criminal law deal with crime – an act committed in violation of a law prohibiting it or and act omitted in violation of a law demanding it. Civil law deals with the individual’s relation to other individuals or groups of individuals, not with society as a
LAW/421
August 6, 2012
Michael S. Green
The Role of Law
Laws are “the body of rules or principles, prescribed by authority or established by custom, that a state, community, society, or other group recognizes as binding on its members” (Ferguson Publishing, 1999, p. 105). The purposes of laws are to maintain peace and order, to define the rights of citizens, to secure justice, to harmonize conflicting interests, and to provide means for punishing wrongdoers. Laws are applied and interpreted by courts. The courts do not seek out law-breakers but hear only those cases brought before them by private citizens or by the executive branch of the government. The enforcement of laws, therefore, is an administrative, rather than judicial function.
Kinds of Law
There are two basic kinds of law, substantive and procedural. Substantive law creates primary rights and obligations of individuals. It concerns both persons and property. Laws that define crimes and those that define rights (such as the rights of a person owning property or making a contract) are examples of …show more content…
Procedural law provides the methods by which rights guaranteed or obligations place on persons by substantive law are protected and enforced. Indictments, warrants, and writs are among the legal forms dealt with in procedural law.
In addition to these two basic kinds of law, there are various fields of law; each dealing with a different subject matter. Each field makes use of both substantive and procedural law. These fields include criminal, civil, administrative, and various other types of law. Criminal law deal with crime – an act committed in violation of a law prohibiting it or and act omitted in violation of a law demanding it. Civil law deals with the individual’s relation to other individuals or groups of individuals, not with society as a