- What is financial law?
- Branches of financial law
- Sources of financial law
- Principles of financial law
- Importance of financial law
We explain what financial law is, its branches, sources and principles. In addition, why it is important in the management of the State.
What is financial law?
Financial law is the branch of public Law that studies and regulates the financial activity of the Condition, that is, the set of activities that allow obtaining income capitals and perform expenses to meet various collective needs (such as public services), through the operation of the different existing public bodies.
The financial activity of the State (also called public finance) necessarily produces a set of legal relationships between its bodies (that is, between themselves), and also between the State and individuals (private), which are the object of study. this discipline. This can occur in two types of situations:
- When the State participates actively. In other words, when it plays a role in the economy through the collection of taxes, direct intervention, etc. Your main tool for this is spending.
- When the State participates passively. That is, when it intervenes indirectly in the economy, through loans, exemptions, etc. Your main tool for this is tribute.
Branches of financial law
Financial law is classified into the following subdivisions or branches:
- Tax law. Focused on the area of taxes and the collection of state taxes, as well as their exemption and tariff policies.
- Public property law. Focused on the area of, as its name implies, the management of the heritage of the State, that is, the administration of public goods, which are owned by all.
- Monetary law. Focused on rules that regulate the monetary issue and the management of public credit.
- Budgetary law. Focused on the way in which the State plans, constitutes and manages its budget.
Sources of financial law
Financial law has two clearly differentiated sources:
- The National Constitution. The Magna Carta and the other internal rules of a country provide the legal and juridical framework that regulates financial matters and that can be invoked both by the Management, as by individuals. In this regard, the decisions of the Constitutional Court, in charge of interpreting these norms for their application to specific real situations, are of particular importance.
- International treaties. Similarly, the international treaties that the different States sign to establish a strategy common financial (especially tariff) of mutual, regional or global scope, are another source of financial law. These treaties are particularly important in contemporaneity, in which economic activities take place at a distance (for example, through Internet) that require agreements regarding taxes, contributions and exemptions.
Principles of financial law
Do not confuse financial law with science of the finance. The latter has a much broader field than that of this legal branch, focused on the organization of public financial activity.
It ensures that public spending (the money that the State invests in public works, subsidies, etc.), and public income (the money that the State collects through taxes and state companies) maintain a balance that allows the State to act and that guarantees its persistence in the weather.
Importance of financial law
Financial law is fundamental for the management of the State. In the first place, it regulates the economic ties of the State with third parties or between its different institutions.
In addition, it directly affects the composition of the National Budget, as well as the administration of the nation's assets. Therefore, it is about much more than a set of administrative rules: it is a necessary legal tool for the ideal Public Management of any nation.