Components Of Law
In class, we broke components of law up into four categories. System of social norms on which
laws are based, a group empowered to enforce the laws, a legitimate system of enforcement, and a system
for interpreting the law. Throughout this essay I’ll divide up these categories, and give examples of each of
them.
A system of social norms on which laws are based, generally determine what is good or bad in a
society. Legalization of alcohol consumption makes it moral to consume alcoholic beverages, but stores that
sell have guidelines to sell the legal beverage. But the illegalization of prostitution, however, is immoral. No
one should have to sell their body for money in our society.
Law enforcement is a group empowered to enforce the laws. Some laws are unenforced, such as
traffic and jay walking laws. There is also a legitimate system of enforcement, that lets a body that has seen
a legitimate act to carry out the law. An example is a police officer acting on an observed robbery.
The last component of law is a system for interpreting the law. All laws cannot cover every situation
that may happen, therefore it must be interpreted. The Supreme court applies or interprets the law and/or
gives the law meaning. Words have no meaning unless we give them meaning to laws and the constitution.
The Sociological Definition of law suggests a link between laws and customs. To understand laws
you must study social conditions and background(effects all of society).
laws is to keep the bad things out from the old society out such as
He makes a clear distinction between the letter of a law and the manner in which is enforced, he also makes a distinction most importantly between the just and unjust
Law enforcement is the act of discovering and punishing whose people in society who don’t follow the law, rules and policies properly. Moreover, enforcement
Law, ?a governmental social control? (Black 2), is a quantitative variable that changes in time and space and can be defined by style: penal, compensatory, therapeutic or conciliatory (Black 5). The brief description of law and its interrelation with social control and deviant behavior can be encapsulated in the following scheme. This concept of law put into the context of social life gives a framework of the behavior of law.
Statutory law – this body of law is crucial to the safety of the public. How our different bodies of government function and many of the laws within them are based on the above law. The outline used for today’s society and how justice is maintained comes from this law. (Demand Media, 2011) Mainly these laws are written and set by governing authorities in response to the needs of the public or civil order. (Statutory law - Definition, 2010)
Social norms are the implicit or explicit rules a group has for the acceptable behaviors, values, and beliefs of its members. Implicit social norms are introduced to us at a very early age, and exert a powerful influence on our behavior into adulthood. Our culture is ruled by social norms. In many situations, people 's perception of these norms have a big influence on their behavior. Implicit social norms are not openly stated, but found out when disobeyed. Implicit rules are rules we conform to as a society, and generally these rules make living together more comfortable. Social norms are important because they define the nature of a group, clarify relationships among members, and express values. They are also important because they create cohesion within the society, and members of that society are very aware when such norms are violated. Social norms are often strictly enforced and offenders are often disliked for their conduct. Also, some norms are more strictly held to in certain situations than in
Law has no existence for itself; rather its essence lies, from a certain perspective, in the very life of men.
the laws of man and kept in check by society's own norms. The human struggle to
In every society around the world, the law is affecting everyone since it shapes the behavior and sense of right and wrong for every citizen in society. Laws are meant to control a society’s behavior by outlining the accepted forms of conduct. The law is designed as a neutral aspect existent to solve society’s problems, a system specially designed to provide people with peace and order. The legal system runs more efficiently when people understand the laws they are intended to follow along with their legal rights and responsibilities.
Law is a system of rules that are implemented throughout social establishments to govern behavior. A principle for judging acts as reasonable or unreasonable and they may seem objective, universal, and knowable, which dispositions are guide. Our function is rational activity, and our rational nature gives us dispositions when we are naturally disposed to seek to know, understand, and be
Norms are a part of everyday life. Without norms the world would be in total chaos. Norms by definition are rules of behavior shared by members of a society and rooted in the value system. ( ) Norms are held at a high standard in a society and are valued by its members. Norms vary from society to society. What is considered normal in one society may not be acceptable in another society. Norms are a societies way of living if a member of society breaks that norm they may be looked at as strange or even penalized depending on what kind of norm is broken. Norms are broken into three categories which are folkways, mores, and laws. Folkways are customs or desirable behaviors that are not strictly enforced. Violating a folkway is not criminal, but violating a folkway may have you looked at as weird. Mores are the strongest form of norms they have great moral significance in a society. Violating a more is considered immoral or borderline criminal. The strongest form of mores are taboos which are unthinkable action within a society. Laws are the third category of norms that a...
norms are those that are highly important to either most members in a society or
The most effective laws are those laws that are able to coincide with what people do.
According to Reference.com (2007), law is defined as: "rules of conduct of any organized society, however simple or small, that are enforced by threat of punishment if they are violated. Modern law has a wide sweep and regulates many branches of conduct." Essentially law is the rules and regulations that aid in governing conduct, handling disputes, and dealing with criminal actions.
Norms are by definition general society guidelines and expectations of appropriate behavioral conduct in a particular environment or society. These guidelines could be formal and written such as laws that prohibit stealing or they could be implicit such as behavioral conduct or dress code. Every society has its own way of endorsing and enforcing certain norms and standards of proper behavior while renouncing and sanctioning improper behavior. In general, norms are of a significant importance because they guide our behavior and maintain order in society by providing conformity. Furthermore, norms render behavior predictable rather than random, thus allowing us to predict and understand other people’s actions and behaviors in different situations. On the other hand, divergence from norms is termed “deviance” and can lead to chaos and instability. It is noteworthy to mention, that the culture background and context play an important role as each culture processes its own norms, values, standards and expectations. For instance, in certain cultures shaking hands between opposite sexes is inappropriate, and this is the case in Yemen. Thus our perception of norms in different culture is critical: either we choose to understand an individual’s behavior according to his own culture context and set of norms (cultural relativity) or we choose to understand an individual’s behavior according to our own culture which we believe to be more superior (ethnocentrism). An example of ethnocentrism where norms and values of a certain culture have been imposed on another is the banning of the veil worn by muslim women in France. In contrast, cultural relativism appears in Lebanon where muslim women are perceived in terms of their own culture and are a...