Introduction to Law 30 страница

In all societies, relations between people are regulated by prescriptive laws. Some of them are customs — that is, informal rules of social and moral behaviour. Some are rules we accept if we belong to particular social institutions, such as religious, educational and cultural groups. And some are precise laws made by nations and enforced against all citizens within their power.

What motives do governments have in making and enforcing laws? Social control is undoubtedly one purpose. Public laws establish the authority of the government itself, and civil laws provide a framework for interaction among citizens. Without laws, it is argued, there would be anarchy in society (although anarchists themselves argue that human beings would be able to interact peacefully without laws if there were no governments to interfere in our lives).

Another purpose is the implementation of justice. Justice is a concept that most people feel is very important but few are able to define. Sometimes a just decision is simply a decision that most people feel is fair. But can we create a just society by simply observing public opinion? If we are always fair to majorities, we will often be unfair to minorities. If we do what seems to be fair at the moment, we may create unfairness in the future. Many philosophers have proposed concepts of justice that are much more theoretical than everyday notions of fairness, and sometimes governments are influenced by philosophers. But in general, governments are guided by more practical considerations such as rising crime rates or the lobbing of pressure groups.

Sometimes laws are simply an attempt to implement common sense. It is obvious to most people that dangerous driving should be punished; that fathers should provide financial support for their children if they desert their families; that a person should be compensated for losses when someone else breaks an agreement with him or her. But in order to be enforced, common sense needs to be defined in law, and when definitions are being written, it becomes clear that common sense is not such a simple matter. Instead, it is a complex skill based upon long observation of many different people in different situations. Laws based upon common sense do not necessarily look much like common sense when they have been put into words.

In practice, governments are neither institutions solely interested in retaining power, nor clear-thinking bodies implementing justice and common sense. They combine many purposes and inherit many traditions. The laws that they make and enforce reflect this confusion.

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