Laws are laws created by the legislature as part of the legislative process. Laws are written, discussed, argued, and voted on in Congress or the state legislature. The courts then apply and interpret these laws on a case-by-case basis. Laws created according to the principle of harm are written to protect people from injury caused by others. Violent and property crime laws fall into this category. Without the fundamental laws of the principle of damage, a society eventually degenerates into despotism – the domination of the strong and violent over the weak and non-violent. Harm laws are essential, and every government in the world has them. A society without laws would have no way of solving the social problems that arise in its collective order. This is because such a society would have neither a legislature nor a judicial power.
Many laws are specifically designed to protect certain groups of people. Laws such as the Civil Rights Act (United States) and the Sex Discrimination Act (Australia) make discrimination illegal. These types of laws protect what are called “negative rights,” that is, the right to be free from something like discrimination. Anyone can be discriminated against, but as history shows, some people are more at risk. Laws designed to prevent discrimination based on race, sex, gender, religion and more protect these groups and give them better access to justice. As citizens, we respect laws because they are clearly communicated and fairly enforced. Everyone is held accountable under the same laws, and those laws protect our fundamental rights. This is the foundation of the rule of law in the United States.
With the current legal system, there are both state and federal laws, but we all have a number of rules that we must follow: that is, the Constitution. While the interpretation of law does not completely escape the problem of relativism, we at least have some rigidity and rule-based delegation of power, as well as a universal set of beliefs for solving problems. In a community that relies on nothing more than mere customs, radical change would be an impossible feat. Certainly, some changes could occur slowly, because such changes occur naturally: that is, sociolinguistic variation can occur within a generation of a family. This form of change would be a good example of rapid cultural change. 1. Laws serve as a criterion for acceptable behaviour in society: at its most basic level, law is about settling disputes. When setting rules, communities must take them into account, which leads to disagreements. Some crimes, such as theft and murder, are obvious and have also been codified in ancient laws.
We discussed how legal systems should adapt and evolve over time. If laws stagnated, so did societies. Throughout history, the law has been used as a tool for social change. These are laws that made slavery, segregation and apartheid illegal. Laws prevent people from being fired because of their marriage or disability. The concept of the law as a mechanism for social change is complicated, because if the majority of a community does not agree with the law, it is likely that the law will not be enforced. However, having a law on the books gives people more power than if the law didn`t exist at all. This is an important step (but not necessarily the last) towards real social change. Individuals, organizations or governments who believe they have been harmed by violating established laws can seek redress for this injustice. The remedy is often set out in law, and there is a right to make a claim and claim damages. The law plays a role as an agent of modernization and social change. It is also an indicator of the nature of societal complexity and the integration issues associated with it.
In addition, the strengthening of our belief in the ancient panchayat system, the abolition of the despicable practices of untouchability, child marriage, sati, dowry, etc. are typical examples of social changes brought about by the laws of the land. A person who has been injured by a physician during a medical procedure in North Carolina or California can consult the personal injury laws of the state where the medical malpractice occurred and file medical malpractice against the physician and possibly other facilities, such as the hospital where the injury occurred. While there will be differences between the laws of different states, the basic requirements for medical malpractice (evidence of a breach of duty of care) will be the same. The problem with living in a democracy is that laws change over time. The laws needed in 1789, when the Constitution was born, and in 1890, 1950 or 1990, are different from the laws needed today. Parliament must try to update laws as necessary, and the judiciary must interpret laws so that they apply fairly to society at that time. In the United States, it seems that we have laws, rules and regulations to monitor almost everything.
