On The Relationship Between Law And Society Today

Table of Content

i.Table of content:

1.Introduction:

2.Background:

3.Branches of Law in the Society:

4.Characteristics of Law and Society:

5.Relationship between Law and Society:

6.Improtance of Law in the Society:

7.Challenges of Laws in the Society:

8.Control Measures:

9.Conclusion:

10. References:

1. Introduction

Law and Society emerges from the believe that legal regulations and decisions must be understood in its context. Both law and society have common understanding. They are never autonomous in their context. In other words, law is deeply embedded within a society. It therefore implies that law is socially and historically constructed to become legally recognized procedures and institutions and besides that, law needs a society for its effectiveness and usefulness.

This essay is meant to focus at the history of law and society, relationship of law and society, different branches of law in the society together with its associates which leads to highlight the key characteristics of law and society perspectives with reference to other research contributions of the same field that hold promise for scholars of law and politics. Importance of law in the society is one of the areas that will be discussed in this essay with challenges and control measures hence end up with a conclusion.

2. Background

Law is a guiding principle for the society to ensure achievement of happiness without bloodshed, peace and harmony restraining people from getting beyond guidelines hence breaches set regulations, rules, policies or norms.

Society is referred to human beings who can be described as weaked animals who can easily be swayed by the slightest sight or sniff of materialistic gains like power, financial, luxuries etc leading to unwanted acts causing creation of restrictions.

The above definitions conclude with the fact that law and society rests on the belief of legal rules and decisions that must be understood in the context of inseparable. Both are not autonomous from each other but imbedded deeply within each other. During creation according to the biblical history (Genesis 2:15-17), then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die”. This means as mankind was created, laws started whereby man couldn’t live without laws governing him in the garden of Eden. In other words, today laws are made based on mankind actions and that’s why it’s hard to separate law from society. It’s like society is main engine for laws. However, the relationship of law and society can also be viewed at ways in that laws are socially and historically established and both reflect and impact on cultural aspect, ways on how society bridges the gap of inequalities through different ways of enforcement which is more related to legal procedures and traditional norms in cultural institutions.

The process of law formulation emerges from disagreement where one or two disagree in any area hence mediators intervene in developing agreed ways of controlling reoccurrence of disputes in a society, decision making are ideas reached leading to agreement and legal ideological consciousness is formalization of decisions through recording that aims at balancing and serenities to people’s lives. Creating an environment of self-governance. Imagining an example of living without law in our society where unlawful actors are brought to justice, this would suit the quote that ‘survival of the fittest’. The absence of law in the society would provide an opportunity for lifeless foundation of the society.

Today’s realities on society is heterogeneous systems of all kinds of people who destabilize the balance of the natural society and this is where the law find its strength in restoring the tenderness of disobedience in societies and making people live together cohesively. It’s here that the law helps to maintain the morality of individual personalities as well as society. In other words, law is determined by society actions which determine establishment of laws.

3. Branches of Law in the society

Law has different branches in modern judicial systems which govern the society at all levels.

a. Public Law

This is part of the law which governs the relationships between individuals and government with direct concern to society. It also comprises of constitutional, administrative, tax and criminal laws as procedural law where in public law mandatory rules prevail and of which laws concerning relationships between individuals are mainly considered private law. In other words, public law in relationships governing systems are systematic and unequal government bodies (Central and local) that can make guidance on the rights of individuals. Rule of law ideology where authorities must act within the law. Sighting an example of citizens being unhappy with a decision of administrative authority can ask court for judicial review hence change of laws to suit society despite dictatorial systems that have always affected public law like in African government systems where change of public laws is always based on individual’s interest. Given Uganda as an example where article 102b change was influenced by payment of legislatures to lure the public to consent with change of the article to pass it which escalated nationwide public protests where arrests and use of force was enacted by military officials and police hence intimidated nationals hence passed the proposal based on individual interest (The politics of article 102b, Daily Monitor, September 24 th , 2017 by Timothy Kalyegira).

On the other hand, rights can be divided in two parts that include; private and public rights where public rights cover the aspect of welfare benefits which rights are awarded through an administrative decision out of government budgets while private law covers the aspect of relations between individuals or institutions rather than relations between individuals/institutions and government.

- Constitutional law.

This is the foundation of democratic nations that postulates the supremacy of law in the functioning of law in the society which is termed as rule of law. Constitutional law is one of the branches of law in the society which sets up governments with its different branches of work like Ministries that stipulates how they are elected or appointed and division of powers with responsibilities between them. In prior dominant traditional systems, the basic government systems include executive, legislature and the judiciary which still exists as governing body for the society.

Constitutional law provides understanding of basic human rights which must be protected for everyone and further civil and political citizens poses. It establishes fundamental borders to what any government systems must and must not do which limits roles and responsibilities hence its enshrined in a written document that’s the constitution. Amendments are made based on unanimous acceptance by the society or public. For reasons of political history, some countries may not have documented some of the constitutional information. In other words, constitution is not a single document but based on custom and precedent as expressed in the statutes and judicial decisions. For example, unlike other modern countries, Britain’s constitution is not codified but unwritten one formed of acts of parliament, court judgements and conventions (Magna Carta today by Robert Blackburn, 13, March 2015).

- Criminal Law.

This is where the state enforces sanctions on the defined crimes committed by individuals or businesses for the sake of society justice and peaceable social order. It’s a body of laws that apply to acts of criminal where in circumstances where individuals fail to condone to specific criminal statutes by breaking or doing actions contrary to agreed laws. In other words, criminal law penalties involve the forfeiture of one’s rights and imprisonment which conversely relate to the resolution of legal controversies and involve financial damages. The reason behind criminal law includes deter crime, reform perpetrators, prevent reoccurrence of crime and provide retribution for the act.

- Administrative law

This is the body of law that governs areas of administration in government. Government departments or ministries actions can include; decision making, enforcement of specific regulatory policies or laws. Administrative law therefore is considered a branch of public law. The team involved of decision making of the administrative units of government that includes tribunal, boards or commissions. They are part of state regulatory body such as police law, immigration, transport, communication etc. Many countries established diversified legislative bodies worldwide with different agencies that control the social aspect of society, economic regulations and political systems.

b. Substantive and Adjective Law.

This are laws of procedure or practice as opposed to the body of law that courts are established to administer that may include rules of civil procedure. It involves law that provides a method for enforcement or maintain rights or obtaining redress for their invasion for effectiveness.

[...]