legal norms

Law

2022

We explain what legal regulations are, their characteristics, how they are classified and various examples. In addition, other types of standards.

Legal norms include laws, decrees and court decisions.

What is a legal norm?

Legal norms are the mandates, rules or prescriptions issued by a legal or judicial authority. Assign duties, confer rights, or impose sanctions on individuals living in a community society, granting them a common framework by which to judge their actions, that is, by which to exercise the Justice.

They should not be confused with laws, which are just one type of legal rule. In fact, the legal system of societies is nothing more than the sum of the legal norms established in each society, that is, the way of understanding justice and governing its institutions that each one has. There the different aspects of individual, citizen and institutional life are contemplated, in the form of a constitutional text or a Magna Carta of some kind.

Normally, legal norms are distinguished from religious norms and from other forms of social norms, although in theocratic societies, such as those that abounded in the Middle Ages European, or among the civilizations of the Antiquity, the religious text is at the same time the legal text, that is to say, the religious norms would be the same legal norms.

Characteristics of legal norms

Legal norms have three essential characteristics that distinguish them from the others, such as:

  • They are heteronomous. In other words, they are imposed on the individual by the community itself, that is, by an entity other than itself, from "outside".
  • They are coercive. Compliance with these standards is reinforced by education and punishment, since the Condition that ensures its fulfillment possesses the monopoly of the violence.
  • They are bilateral. They involve two parties: the individual subject to the rule and the party in charge of ensuring compliance with what is established in it.

Classification of legal norms

There are different ways of classifying legal norms. Two of the most important have to do with:

Depending on the will of the individual. That is, depending on what they establish in the face of the persons. Can we talk about:

  • Mandatory rules. Those that force a behaviour determined, regardless of the individual's will. Like the laws criminal.
  • Operative norms. Those that force a certain behavior as long as there is no express wish to the contrary.
  • Interpretive norms. Those that determine or interpret events or legal texts taking into consideration what is established by the Law.

There is a similar classification, known as the Hartian classification (proposed by the English legal philosopher Herbert Adolphus Hart, 1907-1992), which differentiates legal norms based on the same criteria, but in the following way:

  • Primary standards. That regulate the human conduct, prohibiting, allowing and compelling.
  • Secondary standards. That they attribute powers or faculties, attending different public and private aspects.
  • Exchange rules. That establish the way in which legal norms can be totally or partially repealed, how to modify them or introduce new ones.

Depending on your collective or individual interest. That is, whether or not they can be modified by individuals. Can we talk about:

Examples of legal norms

Examples of legal norms are laws, which confer powers, obligations or prohibit certain actions. Also the legal codes, judicial regulations, legal regulations and all rules that govern society and that come from the legal authority. Decrees and decisions are also legal norms, as well as court decisions.

Legal norms and moral norms

Animal rights are an example of moral norms that become legal norms.

Legal norms and social norms have in common that they are the result of society's control over itself. However, they come from very different instances. On the one hand, the legal systems make up the legal framework of a society. On the other hand, moral norms are part of the tradition cultural, religious or emotional of the society itself.

While the legal norms deal with the management Of justice, moral norms involve what society traditionally considers good, correct or in good taste. Moral norms are partially enforceable, since society ensures their compliance.

On the other hand, many legal norms reflect and come from moral norms. For example, the notion of animal rights It comes from the moral norms of recent times and they are already beginning to be reflected in the legal norms of some countries.

Other types of standards

Norms or normative orders can be of many types, according to the authority that issues them or the vital space that they try to regulate or control. Thus, it is possible to also speak of:

  • Religious norms. They arise from religious institutions. They are personal and voluntary. They affect the spiritual life of people, through adherence to a code or a philosophy considered as the way to salvation or elevation.
  • Moral standards. They govern the behavior of individuals in a given society, according to what has traditionally been understood as "good", "bad" or "adequate".
  • Social norms. Regulate the coexistence of the individuals of a community. They come from mutual agreement and consensus.
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