Nature, Purpose and Classification of Law

Vocabulary flashcards covering the nature, classification, and purposes of law, including key legal theories and the difference between civil and criminal law.

Jurisprudence

The study of the nature of law.

School of jurisprudence/thought

A group of persons who explain the term law from the same point of view.

Legal Positivism

A perspective, according to Austin, where law is a coercive instrument for regulating social behaviour.

Command Theory

A theory that assumes the existence of a sovereign with the power to impose penalties or sanctions for compliance.

Marxist theory

A theory postulating that law serves the interests of the dominant classes in society.

Proletariat

The working class in society which lives entirely from the sale of its labor and does not draw profit from any kind of capital.

Salmond's Definition of Law

A body of rules or principles recognized and applied by the state in the administration of justice.

Morality

The sense of judgment between right and wrong by reference to certain standards developed by society over time; it is binding on conscience but not enforceable by courts.

Written law

Codified law consisting of rules that have been reduced to writing and are contained in a formal document.

Unwritten law

Rules of law that are not contained in any formal document and whose existence must be proved.

Municipal (National) Law

Rules of law applicable within a particular country or state that regulate relations between citizens and between citizens and the state.

International Law

A body of rules that generally regulates the relations between countries or states and other international persons such as the UN.

Public International Law

A branch of law derived from customs, conventions, and treaties that regulates the relations between various nations.

Private International Law ('Conflict of Laws')

A branch of law determining which national law applies in court cases involving private citizens of different countries.

Public Law

Fields of law in which the state has a direct interest as the sovereign, including Criminal, Constitutional, and Administrative Law.

Private Law

Branches of law concerned with legal relationships between persons in ordinary transactions where the state has no direct interest as the sovereign.

Substantive Law

Rules that define the rights and duties of parties and prescribe applicable remedies and punishments.

Procedural Law (Adjectival law)

The steps, guiding principles, or rules of practice to be complied with in the administration of justice or application of substantive law.

Crime

An act or omission committed or omitted in violation of public law, created by parliament through statutes.

Suspect

A person alleged to have committed a crime before being formally charged.

Accused

A person who has been charged in an independent and impartial court of law after being arrested.

Standard of proof (Criminal)

Beyond any reasonable doubt; the court must be convinced the accused committed the offence.

Cause of action

The situation created when a person's civil or private rights are violated, leading to a civil case.

Plaintiff

The person in a civil case whose rights are allegedly violated and who sues the alleged wrongdoer.

Defendant

The alleged wrongdoer being sued by a plaintiff in a civil case.

Standard of proof (Civil)

On a balance of probabilities or on a preponderance of probabilities.

Rule of Law (Dicey's framework)

A concept implying every citizen, including lawmakers, is subject to the law; also described as due process.

Absolute supremacy of regular law

One of Dicey's three conceptions meaning all acts of the State are governed by law.

Equality before the law

One of Dicey's three conceptions meaning the equal subjection of all persons before the law without exemption.