Role and Functions of Law PaperEssay Preview: Role and Functions of Law PaperReport this essayRole and Functions of Law PaperAshleyLAW/421October 6, 2014Role and Functions of LawLaw 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 RoleLaw 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 LawA 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
the government has exercised. Laws that are applied to the U.S. are usually enacted at federal level within the context of a federal law (Brennan, 2001). Since there is no rulemaking or a statute-writing process, it is difficult to determine when a law actually reaches the U.S. Congress and the federal courts. In most cases, however, it has been applied during legislative negotiations with states to the benefit of local law enforcement or state and local governments for enforcement, rehabilitation or enforcement actions. It is especially difficult to determine whether or not such a measure is approved by Congress and a law is passed by the legislature by the end of that session or by the end of the Congress. In other cases, although the U.S. Constitution and federal law govern the legal process, the federal law governs the legislative process. In this respect, one of the advantages of the modern judicial system is that it is a more efficient means of evaluating legislative priorities, rather than using the same kind of judicial, administrative and legal processes from the previous era.
Procedural & Legislative Process As noted above, lawmaking is a lengthy process and generally takes the two components of a bill: a legislative process and enforcement processes. The legislative process allows legislators and judges to communicate with each other, obtain a legislative recommendation, enact law and pass it to the President under the “Amended And Constrained Acts” Bill. The enforcement process allows the courts that conduct the enforcement proceeding to execute a law. When it is time to amend or amend an existing law, the courts have a hearing, and then the President has the power to order the Congress to make amendments to it by legislative action.
The statute-writing process usually takes the form of a written order issued by the Executive Branch to the government (Brennan, 2001). This writing order also requires the government to review and respond to requests from the public, the judiciary and the public before making any modifications to the statute-writing, even if the revisions are difficult to make or may have unintended consequences. This process gives Congress the sole authority for modifying or repealing statutes.
The judicial process is the state’s response to the law-making processes. A judicial decision-making process is the use of an executive power to decide on issues related to an Act and that may or may not be subject to judicial review in the United States (Brennan, 2001). Generally, the U.S. courts or the judges are expected to be consistent in doing what they do, regardless of the consequences. The government also normally is subject to the judicial process provided that the Constitution and statutory provision govern the courts and that statutory provisions can be overridden or modified without the possibility for the government to invoke the power to overrade other federal statutes (Brennan, 2001).
The Legislative Process in The New Constitution Lawmaking is performed by the legislative body within the nation’s capital (Cabinet, 2005). The federal law that defines the legislative structure by which Congress decides to pass a law is referred to as the Constitution.
Conservatives and liberals alike criticize President Obama’s and Congress’ failure to pass a new law in the first place. Former U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy of Illinois (2001) made that point strongly in his letter, criticizing the administration for inaction on