The History of Law Vocabulary

BMA-LEB-2: Compare and contrast the relationship between ethics and

the law for a business.

What is Law?Stages In The Growth of Law

1. Individuals are free to take revenge for wrongs done to them

2. A leader acquires enough power to be able to force revenge-minded individuals to accept an award of goods or money instead

3. The leader gives this power to a system of courts

4. The leader or central authority acts to prevent and punish wrongs that provoke individuals to seek revenge

Common Law vs Positive Law• Common Law usually is formed

from the rules used by a judge and have evolved to reflect the current standards or customs of the people.– Unpredictable laws will not

produce a stable society.– A legal system that is too

controlling / rigid to change with the times will be overthrown.

• Positive laws are dictated by sovereign or other central authority to prevent disputes and wrongs from occurring in the first place.

Laws

• Enforceable rules of conduct in a society.

Code

• An organized form that laws can be grouped into.

Common Law

• Law based on the current standards or customs of the people.

Positive Law

• Laws dictated from above (set by sovereign).

English Common LawAdvantages

• Achieves uniformity while maintaining an ability to adapt to changes in society.

• Utilizes precedent which provides stability and fairness.

Disadvantages

• If overdone, it can result in rigid adherence to proper form.– For example, a misspelled

word could nullify or void the effect of a document.

• Early Common Law would only grant remedies for damages.– There was no positive

law.

Jurisdiction

• The power to decide a case.

Equity

• Fairness

Sources of Law1. Constitutions (highest

sources of law) – When constitutions are adopted or amended, or when courts interpret constitutions, constitutional law is made.– We are governed by

both the US Constitution (“the supreme law of the land”) and the GA Constitution.

• Constitutions allocate powers: 1. Between the people and their

governments with the first ten amendments or the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Right protects people from actions of their government.

2. Between state governments and the federal government by regulating foreign and interstate commerce.

3. Among the branches of the government: executive, legislative, and judicial to create checks and balances that ensures no branch of government is too powerful.

Constitution

• Document that sets forth the framework of the government and its relationship to the people it governs.

Sources of Law2. Statutes• State and federal legislatures

are composed of elected representatives of the people.

• Acting for their citizens who elected them, these legislatures enact statutes.

• Towns, cities, and counties can legislate on matters over which the state has given them authority.

• Pieces of legislation created by a town or city council or by a county board or commissions are ordinances.– Ordinances are only effective

within the boundary of the local government that enacted them.

3. Case Law• Case law is created by the

judicial branch, at the federal or state level, after the appellate court has published its opinion on a case.

• That opinion may state new or more appropriate rules to be used in deciding the case and others like it.

• Stare Decisis -- Latin for “let the decision stand” – requires that lower courts follow established case law in deciding similar cases but does not bind supreme courts.

Statutes

• Law enacted by state or federal legislatures

Ordinances

• Legislation enacted by a town, city, or county board or commission.

Case Law

• Made when an appellate court endorses a rule to be used in deciding court cases.

Stare Decisis

• Doctrine that requires lower courts to follow existing case law in deciding similar cases.

Sources of Law4. Administrative Law

• Federal, state, and local legislatures all create administrative agencies that were formed to carry out particular laws and are controlled by the executive branch.

• Administrative agencies are sometimes given legislative powers and limited judicial powers to create rules and regulations to be carried out by its executive powers.– Example: The US President

controls the Federal Social Security Administration that determines when a student is eligible to receive social security payments from a widow as a dependent.

What Happens When Laws Conflict?

• To settle conflict between laws created at different level of government, generally supremacy rules places federal law or state law and state law over local law.

• To settle conflict between laws created at the same level of government, supremacy rules says constitutional law prevails over statutory law and statutory law over administrative law.

• To settle conflict in the court system, supremacy law says the higher court’s decision prevails over a lower court’s.

Administrative Agencies

• Government body formed to carry out particular laws.

Main Types of LawsCivil Laws• Civil law allows an individual

to seek legal remedies when his or her private legal rights of an individual are violated or when one person is injured by another.

• If a defendant loses a civil case, that defendant is liable and must pay compensation to the plaintiff.– Civil offenses are called torts.

Criminal Laws• Criminal law governs when the

citizens’ right to live in peace is violated has been violated.

• If a person who has committed a crime is caught and prosecuted by the government, s/he can face a fine, imprisonment, and/or execution.– A crime is an offense against

society rather than individuals and disrupts the stable environment

• When a crime occurs, private injuries may be inflicted as and a criminal case and civil suit may be brought against the defendant.

Civil Law

• Group of laws used to provide remedy for wrongs against individuals.

Criminal Law

• Group of laws that defines and sets punishment for offenses against society.

Main Types of LawProcedural and Substantive Laws

• Types of Procedural Law– Criminal Procedure: defines the

process for enforcing the law when someone has been charged with a crime.

– Civil Procedure: used when a civil law has been violated

• Examples of Procedural Law – Determine what remedies are

available in a lawsuit and how those remedies are to be secured.

– Determine whether equitable remedies, like an injunction, are available.

– Stare Decisis and rules for determining supremacy of conflicting laws.

• Substantive law is concerned with all rules of conduct except those involved in enforcement.

Business Law• Business law covers rules that

apply to business situations and transactions.– Most business transactions involve

a merchant and a consumer.• Business law mainly is concerned

with civil law, especially contracts and breaches.

• With the growth of interstate commerce and large business firms, the adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) from state to state has created more uniformity among state laws governing business and commercial transactions like sales, business forms, and certain credit transactions.

Procedural Law

• Sets forth how rights and responsibilities can be legally exercised and enforced through the legal system.

Substantive Law

• Defines rights and duties. Substantive law defines offenses, such as murder, theft, breach of contract, and negligence.