Role and Functions of Law Paper

Role and Functions of Law Paper

Ashley

LAW/421

October 6, 2014

Role and Functions of Law

Law is something that is a part of everyone’s life every day whether it be personal or for business. The paper is going to define the functions and role of law in business and society. Law is involved in everything that we do and every decision that we make on a daily basis in one way or another. The functions and role of law will also be discussed in my present job.

Law and its Role

Law is defined according to our readings as “a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority, and having legal binding force” (Melvin, 2011). Law throughout history has been defined in a number of ways. Common characteristics of law currently is “that it creates duties, obligations, and rights that reflect accepted views of a given society” (Melvin, 2011). Law plays a lot of different roles when it comes to business and society. The most obvious roles law plays are in these three different classifications which are: Criminal and Civil Law, Substantive and Procedural Law and Public and Private Law.

Criminal and Civil Law according to Melvin (2011) “Civil Laws are there to compensate parties (including businesses) for losses as a result of another’s conduct and Criminal Laws are a protection of society, and the violation of criminal laws which result in penalties to the violator such as imprisonment or fines.” These laws are primarily statutes and are normally in nature civil or criminal. Substantive laws are the social duties and rights of individuals and procedure laws are guidelines in which the courts deal with what happened in the substantive law. Public laws come from the government and the private laws are binding between two parties that interact with each other.

Functions of Law

A combination of constitutional law, statutory law, common law and administrative law at the federal, state and local levels (Melvin, 2011) regulate businesses and individuals in the U.S. make up Modern Law. Constitutional Law is the foundation for all other law, exists in both the federal and state because each state has its own constitution that is highest within each’s borders and it is different from the other sources of law. Statutory law “is created by a legislative body and approved or disapproved by the executive branch of government” (Melvin, 2011). Administrative law is the source of law that authorizes the exercise of authority by executive branch agencies and independent government agencies (Melvin, 2011). Common law is made up by the courts and is a law that has not been passed by the legislature, but by previous cases that