We explain what Positive Law is and its main characteristics. Also, what are the branches of this right.
What is positive law?
Fundamentally, positive law is called the written corpus of the laws, that is, to the set of legal norms established by a legislative body and compiled in a National Constitution or code of norms (not only laws, but all kinds of legal norms).
Positive law, unlike natural law (inherent in the human being) or the customary (established by custom), thus obeys a social and legal pact established by the communities same for their regulation and exercise of peace, since the laws are written and approved sovereignly.
This type of law regulates the conduct citizen, the performance of the bodies of the Condition and private freedoms, that is, they create the framework of coexistence, from Justice and problem solving necessary for life in society. These laws remain in force until they are repealed by a new legal framework or rejected by popular and sovereign decision.
Hence, it is possible to speak of two forms of positive law: the one of current application and the one not in force. The first acts in accordance with what has already been said, while the second constitutes the legal history of a nation or group. To it can be added the legal history of the culture to which the community belongs.
Characteristics of positive law
In the first place, positive law is a system of coercive norms, that is, that can be used to force others to act in a certain way. The primary function of the State, seen in this way, is to ensure compliance with these norms, including through the monopoly of the violence (repression, bodies of law, etc.).
On the other hand, any positive regulation must be written, published, and disseminated in the community it governs, that is, it must be public knowledge. A law cannot be obeyed if no one knows it, and for that there are physical supports on which legal regulations are printed and circulated: constitutions, codes of various kinds, regulations, etc.
And finally, positive law is not definitive: it is constantly changing, remodeling, updating and adapting to the legal and social reality of the communities they regulate. The history of positive law is also, in some way, that of the legal needs of citizens.
Branches of positive law
Positive law is classified mainly into two categories or branches: public Law Y private right. This division dates from the times of Ancient Rome and is based on the distinction between the matters of the private life of the persons, and the affairs of the life State public. Each slope has its own branches, which are detailed below:
Branches of public law:
- Constitutional right. One who organizes public powers, the powers of the State and its relationship with citizens.
- Administrative law. The one concerning the management of the assets and resources of the State.
- Criminal law. The one that regulates the way in which the State will repress and punish the actions that risk the framework of social coexistence contemplated in the Constitution and its different codes.
- Public international law. The one that governs and regulates the relations between the different States that exist in a given geographical region (which can be the whole world).
- Ecclesiastical law. The one who governs the relationship between institutions religious and the state.
Branches of private law:
- Civil law. The one who regulates private relationships between people, their rights, freedoms, patrimonies and transfer of hereditary assets.
- Commercial law. The one that governs the transactions and exchanges of goods and services.
- Labor law. The one who governs work relationships, that is, patterns and workers.
- Rural law. He who regulates the affairs of the field and the production of food.