The Different Types of Legal Systems
Legal systems are a key part of many nations. They serve to keep the peace, maintain the status quo, protect individual rights, and promote social justice and orderly change.
While some legal systems are more effective at serving these purposes than others, all of them have been created to serve a particular purpose. This article will discuss some of those functions and explain how legal systems work to accomplish them.
Legal Systems
The legal systems in which countries and individuals are governed vary greatly in their aims, the way they process civil and criminal cases, and their procedures for determining guilt. The common-law system, for example, uses juries and adheres to precedents in formal adjudications.
Civil law systems, however, rely less on court precedent and more on codes of decision for many specific disputes. These resolutions often cannot be applied to subsequent determinations involving other parties, even where the statute at issue is still valid.
The legal system of the States, for example, is a hybrid of civil and common law. It draws its authority from four sources: constitutional law, statutory law, administrative regulations, and case law.
The Laws of Nations
The laws of nations are a collection of rules and principles that govern interactions between the citizens of various nation-states. These regulations include international custom (general state practice accepted as law), treaties, and general principles of law recognized by most national legal systems.
These rules are grounded in a belief in natural rights and universal principles, although individual nation-states have their own legal rights and duties. Originally developed in ancient times, these basic notions of governance and international relations have been the basis for modern international law.
In the 15th century, the development of science, humanism, and notions of individual rights contributed to an accelerated development of international law into its current framework. The influx of Greek scholars into European universities increased navigation and exploration, and the formation of centralized states all challenged scholars to develop a conceptual framework for international relations.
The Laws of States
The laws of states are a set of laws that apply to people who live in and travel through a specific state. These laws are made by the state legislature and signed by the governor of that state.
When a state’s laws conflict with federal laws, the state’s laws are usually declared invalid by the courts. This is a result of the doctrine of preemption.
Laws of Cities
The laws of cities govern how city governments are organized, how they act, and what rights citizens have. This means that city leaders can't ignore the wants and needs of community members when making important decisions.
A city can create or amend zoning and land use rules to protect people's legal rights, safety, and property values. They may also protect individuals from discrimination based on their race, religion, or sexual orientation.
For these reasons, it's vital to have a robust ordinance and resolution record that contains all adopted and approved ordinances and resolutions in an orderly, logical format with a table of contents and index. It's also advisable to codify all ordinances, even those that don't have the force and effect of law.
Laws of Individuals
Laws are enforceable requirements for behavior established by social or governmental institutions. These include federal laws, state statutes and regulations, and court rules. They can be based on a written or tacit constitution, as well as on customary rules of social conduct.
In general, laws should be able to guide individual behavior without placing cognitive or behavioral demands on people. They should also be open, clear, general in form, and universal in application. They should be able to inform people about prevailing social values and must be relatively stable so that they do not change over time. They should provide a non-arbitrary form of government and support equality before the law. The rule of law is one of the most important tenets of democracy, as it prevents the arbitrary use of power.
Legal systems are a key part of many nations. They serve to keep the peace, maintain the status quo, protect individual rights, and promote social justice and orderly change. While some legal systems are more effective at serving these purposes than others, all of them have been created to serve a particular purpose. This article…