Introduction to Law: Basics and Sources of Law class 1

Vocabulary and key concepts from the first lecture of Introduction to Law, covering definitions of law, types of justice, and major legal theories.

Law

Legal rules enforceable by collective means, particularly by organs of the State, through specific sanctions.

Positive law

Explicitly created law residing in official sources such as legislation, treaties, or customs.

Objective law

Law viewed as a societal phenomenon consisting of a set of general written rules for the behavior of people living in a social context, enforced by the State.

Subjective law (Rights)

A specific claim that a subject derives from a legal rule; the individual perspective of law.

Subjects of law

Entities that can have rights and duties, including natural persons, legal persons (e.g., companies), the State, and international organisations (e.g., UN, WHO).

Private law

The branch of law concerning purely the relationships between persons.

Public law

The branch of law concerning relationships with a body possessing public powers.

Legal certainty

A benefit of law involving certainty about content, enforcement, and consistent application, often represented by the phrase 'Dura lex, sed lex' ($the law is hard – but it is the law$).

Distributive justice

A type of justice related to how benefits and burdens are shared across a group of persons; closely related to social justice.

Retributive justice

Justice focused on deserved punishment as a reaction to wrongdoing, ensuring the innocent are not punished.

Corrective justice

Justice where punishment or compensation is proportionate to the seriousness of the crime or the damage suffered.

Restorative justice

A form of justice focused on finding ways to address harm between those harmed and those taking responsibility for the harm.

Procedural justice

The principle of resolving disputes by giving everyone equal chances of pleading their case.

Substantive justice

The principle that the final outcome of a legal process must be just.

Veil of ignorance

A concept from J Rawls’ Theory of Justice ($1971$) where a social contract is made by individuals in an 'original position' who do not know their future status.

Natural Law ($Thomas Aquinas, 1225-1274$)

The idea that human beings are rational and can identify law that allows them to flourish in society; it is considered superior to positive law.

Leviathan ($Thomas Hobbes, 1588-1679$)

A philosophical view where legal certainty is paramount and absolute State power is preferable to the 'natural state' of a war of everybody against everybody.

Pure theory of law ($Hans Kelsen$)

A modern positivist theory focused strictly on the law itself, seeking to exclude political ideology, morality, or social sciences.

Radbruch formula ($Gustav Radbruch, 1878-1949$)

The principle that positive law takes precedence unless the conflict between a statute and justice reaches an 'intolerable degree,' in which case the statute must yield to justice.