The 5 Basic Sources of Law

In the U.S law there are five basic sources of law, which will be discussed in this context. The primary sources of the American law are constitutional law, administrative law, common law, statutory law and treaties. “Most U.S. law consists primarily of state law, which can and does vary greatly from one state to the next”(Boundless). The U.S law derived from the English law, but has separated away from it and has incorporated a number of civil innovations. Each of these five sources of U.S law plays an essential role into the making of our law system. With that being understood we will take a deeper look into each source of law exclusively and see what they contribute.

First, we are going to look at constitutional law. Constitutional law is a very broad source of law that deals with clarification and enactment of the United States Constitution. “As the Constitution is the foundation of the United States, constitutional law deals with some of the fundamental relationships within our society”(Cornell Law). These relationships include the affiliations between the three branches of government, which are legislative, executive and judicial. Other relations in constitutional law can be interactions between both state and federal government. Two important parts of constitutional law are both judicial review and the Supreme Court. “Judicial review is the idea, fundamental to the US system of government, that the actions of the executive and legislative branches of government are subject to review and possible invalidation by the judicial branch”(Cornell Law). Judicial review makes sure that the three branches of government plays by the “rules”, and judicial review also allows opportunity for a fair ruling. The Supreme Cou...

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...usion, we can all agree that all five of these sources contribute to the U.S law in similar yet distinctive ways. This is where functionalism plays a part in the U.S law, because we need each of these precise laws to help function in a proper matter. These laws help define the authority and structure of the U.S law. Having these five certain laws serves as a purpose to help ensure the existence of suitable order, also they provide resolutions to conflicts and provide a safe haven for individuals and they assets that they acquire.

Works Cited

"Common Law." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

"Constitutional Law." LII / Legal Information Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

"Primary Sources of American Law: Constitutions, Statues and Administrative Regulation, and Case Law." Boundless. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.