Should laws always be obeyed? I regard the law as standing under legally enforceable duties to one another. In all fields of law, the emphasis is ever on duty, be it agreed duty, as in a contract, or imposed duty, as in a tort or a crime. Legal obligations upheld by the social contract may limit people’s liberty but do so only in ways necessary to yield benefits for all. The ‘rule of law’ governs the conducts between people and arguably serves the greater interests of all participants in a legal system and puts us all on an equal footing. The right of making laws and enforcing them is what legitimises the political power of a state. The state acts in the best interest of the public and runs a society in an orderly fashion which is a sign of a progressive society. Without a government, men would tear one another to pieces, therefore the law is an instruction of the state and not the citizens. Therefore, as the law is the register of our wills where the public interest is allowed to predominate, I believe we have a moral obligation to obey the law that is willed by the mass ( collectivity). Also, we are obliged to obey the law because we consent to it, not explicitly but rather tacitly so to enjoy the protection and benefits of a state. No state is a better example to support these points than Afghanistan where I lived for the first 14 years of my life. Hamid Karzai became the first ever democratically elected head of state of Afghanistan in 2004 and all preceding
concentrates that law is purely used to promote good by the state. Furthermore, law should
The rule of law is whereby the government and all those who govern are bound by the law and everyone must follow the law. Rule of law is also known as nomocracy. Government individual officials are not entitled to make any decision which is not in accordance to the law (Paulsen, Calabresi, McConnell & Bray, 2013). All the citizens are governed by the law including those who make the laws. A. V. Dicey has highly advocated for rule of law in modern times and has popularized it. In history the idea of rule of law can be traced back to the ancient civilizations like China, Mesopotamia, and Rome among others.
It is complacent to think one can obey the law in order for society to progress. The state should never be looked at as a metric for ethics. One can observe history to understand that. Freedom is a constant struggle that involves grassroot movements, collectivization and solidarity of the communities. The people must liberate themselves and cannot expect oppressors to relinquish their rights. One can see these concepts in movements throughout history.
Definitions of the rule of law can be blurred unclear at times, the easiest way to define what the rule of law is, is to start by looking at 4 main principles. Firstly it recognises that everyone is accountable under the law, regardless of status or position within society such as politicians and the government it’s
There have been many people that have partaken in the act of not following, or breaking a law that they personally have deemed unjust throughout history, or taken part in civil disobedience . Socrates as well as Dr. Martin Luther King have done this. But the question of whether or not we should be required to follow a law that one personally believes is unjust is very hard to answer. Nevertheless, I believe that we should in fact be able to disobey a law and or a decision that we consider to be unjust. However, in saying this there are some guidelines that come with this. I am not saying that one should just have a complete disregard for the law, which would result in chaos and there would not be a civil society. Nonetheless, what I am
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 enforced through social institutions to govern behavior. (Robertson, Crimes against humanity, 90).Laws can be made by a collective legislature or by a single legislator, resulting in statutes, by the executive through decrees and regulations, or by judges through binding precedent, normally in common jurisdictions.
Our society is built off of the concept of a social contract by which the individuals who comprise the society give up certain freedoms in exchange for protection by the government. The government then has a duty to properly balance the conflicting freedoms of its various constituents and ensure that they can enjoy the maximum amount of freedom without interference from the government or from other individuals. Along with the social contract comes the concept of rule of law, an essential tenet of any structured society, whether free or not. In a perfect society, all laws would be constructed off of the social contract, and thus there would be no legitimate reason to oppose them as they would promote maximal freedom and justice. However,
Laws are put in place for means of protection of others and are overall very just and useful in day to day life. Law making is progress and progression and not a single person has a right to break these laws.
On the other hand, people should not rebel against laws they view as unjust because people are weak to assume their consequences. Gandhi states, “India is less manly under the British rule than she ever was before.” In this quote Gandhi means that the manly are not strong enough but in this case is the opposite (womans) because he is contrasting India’s and British’s power. One way people should not rebel against laws they view as unjust is by not facing the consequences of their problems.
In reading your discussion reply, I agree discretion or judgment is something a police officer possesses to enforce the laws. It is a process that allows them to decide whether the perpetrator needs a chance to correct their misinterpretations of the law in committing these criminal activities. However, the controversy does come about when you state that lowering the crime opposed to having equal punishment for all across the public sector. Do you think it is fair to apply laws when it is a convenience or implement when an individual feels the need to enforce these laws opposed to carrying the laws out on a regular basis? I believe practices or strategies methods such as these tend to sway on those law abiding citizens into becoming corrupt. For example, it is equivalent to aiming high to obtain a target without having prior knowledge of what the expectations are for accomplishing a task.
So not only does law impose ideals without giving justification; it also imposes itself without justification. Law does not allow itself to be vulnerable to criticism; instead of allowing people to judge it by its merits and failings law forcefully imposes itself, without consent based on analysis and understanding. The Social Contract purports that people who agree to the imposition of law upon them do so in exchange for the protection of the government. Still, as one can see, in reality government often fails, indeed never attempts, to protect its own people. The purpose of law and punishment is to "protect" the people, but the fact that punishment need be imposed only illustrates the fact that it does not protect. Punishment is imposed only after harmful actions against society have been carried out. In order for punishment to be applied there first must be a crime- an action that is government's responsibility to prevent from taking place. When law is applied government has already failed to protect the individual; punishment will do nothing to help the victim after they have been victimized. Law does not, in truth, prevent such behavior; it only deals with it once it has occurred. Law does nothing to prevent socially harmful behavior; it therefore does not protect in accordance with the tenets set forth
The rule of law is a difficult concept to grasp and proves elusive to substantive definition. However, the following work considers the attempts of various social and legal theorists to define the concept and pertinent authorities are considered. Attitudes and emphasis as to the exact shape, form and content of the rule of law differ quite widely depending on the socio-political perspective and views of respective commentators (Slapper and Kelly, 2009, p16), although there are common themes that are almost universally adopted. The conclusions to this work endeavour to consolidate thinking on the rule of law in order to address the question posed in the title, which is at first sight a deceptively simple one.
The rule of law represents a challenge to State authority and power, demanding both that power be granted legitimately and that their exercise is according to law. The law is not autonomous but rests on the support of those it governs. Whilst the rule of law places law above everyone, it remains paradoxically subjected to the ultimate judgment of the people. The rule of law is considered the most fundamental doctrines of the constitution of UK. The constitution is said to be founded on the idea of the rule of law.
In every political society it is the law which contributes to its civilized character, but law is the handmaid of social justice, rendering in the interest of society that which is according to law and to which a person or persons are entitled.