Concepts and Definition of Law

• Law is an ordinance of reason promulgated by an authority
• Ordinance is a law set forth by an authority
• Promulgate means to promote or make widely known
• The system of rules recognized by a country or community to regulate actions and enforce penalties
• Law is the science of moral rules based on the rational nature of man, governing free activity for individual and social ends
• A norm of human conduct in social life, established by a sovereign organization and imposed for compulsory observance
• A rule of conduct, just, obligatory, promulgated by competent authority for the common good of people or nation
• Legislation is the act of making rules
• Laws that promote the common good, protecting and assisting weaker members of society, are social legislation
• Jurisprudence is the study, knowledge, theory, or philosophy of law
• Analyzes, explains, classifies, and criticizes entire bodies of law
• Compares and contrasts law with other fields of knowledge like literature, economics, religion, and social sciences
• Reveals historical, moral, and cultural basis of legal concepts
• Focuses on abstract questions like "What is law" and "how do judges decide cases"
• Natural law is an observable law relating to natural phenomena, inherent in the nature of man
• Moral law is based on principles and values of right and proper behavior
• Divine law is the eternal law of God found in scriptures, like the Ten Commandments
• Morals cover a wider scope than law, including duties to oneself and God
• Law is a product of social life, created by human nature to regulate human relations for harmony and co-existence
• Rests upon concepts of order, co-existence, and liberty
• Rule of human conduct, promulgated by competent authority, obligatory, and for general observance
• General Divisions of Law:
• Divine Law (God as legislator) and Human Law (man-made)
• Human Law:
• General or public law (International, Constitutional, Administrative, Criminal, Religious)
• Individual or private law (Civil, Mercantile, Procedural)
• Mandatory, prohibitory, and permissive laws
• Mandatory commands something to be done, prohibitory commands something not to be done, permissive tolerates or respects what is permitted
• Codification of Laws:
• Systematic organization of laws into one or more codes
• A code is a collection of laws of the same kind, referring to a particular branch of law
• Codification simplifies and arranges juridical rules, unifies legislations, and introduces reforms due to social changes
• Codification was initiated by David Dudley Field to reduce bulk, clear out refuse, and arrange legal provisions for clarity and practice