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Atlanta Legal Services
What Is Law? Law is the set of rules or norms of conduct which forbid, permit or mandate specified actions and relationships among people and organizations. The authority upon which legal rules rest and the extent to which they are formally codified varies between jurisdictions, but most legal systems profess to be engaged in an attempt to assure impartial treatment of those suspected of breaking the rules and to bring about justice. However some argue that certain legal systems - such as those operating in dictatorships and monarchies - are inherently unjust because they afford majority power to the few. The word law derives from the late Old English lagu of probable North Germanic origin. Law is typically administered through a system of courts in which judges (sometimes with the aid of a jury or lay magistrate) hear disputes between parties, and apply a set of rules in order to provide an outcome that is just and fair. The substantive and procedural laws, and the manner in which laws are administered, are collectively known as a legal system, which typically has developed through tradition in each country. Most countries rely upon the police to enforce the law. Police officers most often must be professionally trained in law enforcement before they are permitted to act under the color of law, to issue legal warnings and citations, execute search or other legal warrants and to make arrests. Legal practitioners, most often, must be professionally trained in the law before they are permitted to advocate for a party in a court of law, draft legal documents, or give legal advice. Civil law In reference to legal traditions, civil law usually means a system of law which is codified and subsequently applied and interpreted by judges. In theory only legislative enactments (rather than judicial precedent) are considered legally binding, but in reality courts do pay some attention to previous decisions. Almost 60% of the world's population live in a country ruled on the civil law system[citation needed]. The civil law system finds its origins in Egyptian history based upon a common sense view of right and wrong, following the codes based on the concept of Maàt, Goddess of Truth, Balance and Order. In addition to the importance of the Maàt, several other principles within Ancient Egyptian law were essential, including an adherence to tradition as opposed to change, the importance of rhetorical skill, and the significance of achieving impartiality and social equality. The Ancient Egyptians were extremely attached to tradition probably due to the fact that the topography of the Nile provided protection from foreign invaders and the fact that the constant replenishing of the river allowed for comfort in everyday life and recurrent rituals and farming practices. This adherence to tradition led to two developments in the law: (1) judges kept records of their decision so that they could be referred to as precedent and as a result (2) Egyptian law did not evolve very quickly. In addition to an adherence to tradition, Ancient Egyptians placed an emphasis upon the ability to speak persuasively and skillfully. Many works of the Middle Kingdom "recognized one's ability to speak could make or break a case." Furthermore, the Ancient Egyptian legal system, focused upon impartiality and equality. The principle of equality stipulated that "persons who are situated similarly ought to be treated similarly before the law." The concept of legal neutrality originated during the late First Intermediate Period (2200-2040 B.C.) and Middle Kingdom (2040-1674 B.C.). In addition to neutrality, the Ancient Egyptian people developed a legal perspective of equality in the early Middle Kingdom, as shown by the belief that "the creator god stated that he made all men equal in opportunity and that if there [was] any violation of this equality, the fault [was] the man's." Thus, the Ma'at, the adherence to tradition, rhetoric, impartiality and equality were all vital concepts in the Ancient Egyptian legal system. Russ Ver Steeg, Law in Ancient Egypt. Egyptian legal principles were adopted and further modified by the Greeks and thereafter by Roman law, especially the Corpus Juris Civilis of Emperor Justinian, as later developed through the Middle Ages by mediæval legal scholars. Originally civil law was one common legal system in much of Europe, but with the rise of nationalism in the 17th century Nordic countries and around the time of the French Revolution, it became fractured into separate national systems. This change was brought about by the development of separate national codes, of which the French Napoleonic Code and the German and Swiss codes were the most influential. Around this time civil law incorporated many ideas associated with the Enlightenment. The civil codes of many countries, particularly former French and Spanish colonies closely trail the Napoleonic code in some fashion. However, this is not true for most Central, Eastern European, Scandinavian and East Asian countries. Notably, the German BGB was a decisive influence to the following civil codes in other countries. Because Germany was a rising power in the late 19th century when many Asian nations were introducing civil law, the German Civil Code has been the basis for the legal systems of Japan and South Korea. In China, the German Civil Code was introduced in the later years of the Qing Dynasty and formed the basis of the law of the Republic of China which remains in force in Taiwan. Some authors consider that civil law later served as the foundation for socialist law used in Communist countries, which in this view would basically be civil law with the addition of Marxist-Leninist ideas. In the United States, only Louisiana, with its French heritage, relies on civil law - all the other states and the federal government itself adhere to the common law system. However, Louisiana has been greatly influenced by the common law system existing elsewhere in the United States, and prior court decisions can create binding precedent. Common law The common law is an Anglo-Saxon legal tradition, based on judicial decisions that create binding precedent. Common law is law derived from decisions judges make on individual cases in narrative form as opposed to a statute drafted by a legislative body. The U.S. (except Louisiana) borrowed and built on the English common law system although every state to varying degrees also relies on statutory law made by the legislature. The common law system is currently in practice in Ireland, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada (excluding Quebec), and the United States (although Louisiana uses both common law and Napoleonic civil law). In addition to these countries, several others have adapted the common law system into a mixed system. For example, Pakistan, India and Nigeria operate largely on a common law system, but incorporate a good deal of customary law and religious law. Customary law Customary law are systems of law that have evolved largely on their own within a given country and have been adapted to meet the needs of the particular culture. Note that customary law may also be relevant within jurisdictions following another legal tradition in fields or subfields of law where no legislative enactment exists. For example, in Austria, scholars of private law often claim that customary law continues to exist, whereas public law scholars dispute this claim. The only countries in the world today that use this legal system are Mongolia and Sri Lanka. Religious law Many religions contain a body of law - for example, Halakha in Judaism, Sharia in Islam, and various forms of Canon law for different denominations of Christians. In some cases these are intended purely as individual moral guidance, whereas in other cases they are intended and may be used as the basis for a country's legal system. This can be in one of two ways: * In countries such as Iran, the religious code of Islam is integral to the country's legal system. In this case, civic law is the religious law (or based closely upon it). Some countries, where the state exists as a vehicle for a religion-based culture, are known as theocracies, and historically were often run by priests or the king (or god-king) as an earthly personification of the religion itself. Amongst religious legal codes, Halakha, followed by Orthodox and Conservative Jews (in substantially different forms) deals with both ecclesiastical relations as well as civil law. However unlike Sharia which is sometimes used as a basis for a national legal code, there is currently no country that is fully governed by Halakha. On a smaller level there are still regions of the world that practice variations of Christian Canon law used by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion. However, modern-day canon law copes almost solely with ecclesiastical relations, unlike Sharia, which relates also to civil law (like property rights, contracts, partnerships and covering damages) and administrative law. Separately from national law, individuals who practice a particular religion may agree with others to have their cases heard by religious courts to which they mutually agree to submit. These are voluntary and have no judicial enforcement power, none the less (for example) two religious Jews may decide to have their dispute heard by a Jewish court and be bound by its rulings, as a matter of personal belief. Similar arrangements may hold for Islam and other religions. In such cases there may be agreed recourse to the civic courts, or it may be agreed to be foregone.
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