Professional Documents
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BSL 1
BSL 1
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← Basic Functions of Law
• Dispute resolution
o May be criminal or non-criminal
• Protection of property
o Protect property ownership and assist in making of voluntary agreements-
contracts- regarding exchanges of property and services.
• Preservation of the state
o Ensures political change is brought about by elections legislation and
referenda rather than revolution, sedition and rebellion
← Law and Morals
• Some law and morals overlap (“thou shall not kill”)
o It is morally wrong to take another’s life, and it is punishable by law to do
so as well
• Some laws have nothing to do with morals
o You must drive on the right side of the road
• Some moral issues are not defined legally
o You should not stand by and watch a blind man walk off a cliff, but it is not
punishable by law to do so
← Law and Justice
• Without law, there can be no justice
• Justice is defined as the fair, equitable and impartial treatment of the competing
interests and desires of individuals and groups with due regard for the common
good.
• Law does not guarantee justice
o Totalitarian societies form laws to supplement their own wrongdoings
(Nazi Germany)
← Classification of Law
• A right is the capacity of a person, with the aid of the law, to require another
person to perform or to refrain from performing a certain act
• A duty is the obligation the law imposes upon a person to perform or to refrain
from performing a certain act
• No right can rest upon one person without a corresponding duty to rest upon
another person
• Substantive and Procedural
o Substantive law creates, defines, and regulates legal rights and duties
Ex: rules of contract law
o Procedural law sets forth the rules for enforcing those rights that exist by
reason of the substantive law
Ex: defines the method by which to obtain a remedy in court
• Public and Private
o Public law is the branch of substantive law that deals with the governments
rights and powers and its relationship to individuals or groups
Consists of constitutional, administrative and criminal law
o Private law is that part of substantive law governing individuals and legal
entities in their relationship with one another
Business law is primarily private law
← Sources/Types of Law
• US Constitution
o Sets up the structure for and grants power to the government
Determines how it is organized, and the relationship between federal
gov’t and state
Creates three separate branches of government
Executive- power to enforce the law
• Prosecutorial discretion- laws that are not enforced
Judicial- interpret the law, judicial review
• Can determine laws to be unconstitutional
Legislative- power to create law
• Can override executive veto with 2/3 vote
o Limits the power of the government
Right to bear arms, right to vote, right to due process, freedom of
expression, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, equal protection
Right can not be restricted unless government has a compelling
reason to do so
o Applies in no way to private entity, only to state entity
• Legislative Law (Statutes)
o Laws passed by the legislative body
o Civil rights act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in the workplace
Example, if a private company fires female workers based on gender
discrimination, the plaintiff (fired worker) cannot sue based on
unconstitutionality.
She can sue based on statutes (Civil Rights Act of 1964)
o Deal with illegal acts within private entities
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