Nature Of Law

The nature of law can be best understood under four heads:-

 The Normativity of Law

The term “normative” has basically its roots in “normal” behavior of something.
In law, as an academic discipline, the term "normative" is used to describe the way something
ought to be done according to a value position. As such, normative arguments can be conflicting,
insofar as different values can be inconsistent with one another.
Natural Law is normative. It’s the moral law we see as binding on humans and tolerably
accessible whether through intuitions or reason or what have you. This is the law written on the
hearts of man — it is accessible to all (or practically all) people without revelation or belief in a
particular god. A Christian wouldn’t hold me to account for missing Mass on a Holy Day of
Obligation, since I don’t understand it’s a sin, but they would fault me for committing murder,
since I can be assumed to know it is wrong.

 LAW IS COERCIVE
Throughout human history the law has been known as a coercive institution, enforcing its
practical demands on its subjects by means of force, threats and violence. This conspicuous
feature of law made it very tempting for some philosophers to assume that the normativity of law
resides in its coercive aspect. Coercion is an essential feature of law, distinguishing it from other
normative domains.
In law’s coercive aspect, there are several issues entangled here, and we should carefully
separate them. John Austin famously maintained that each and every legal norm, as such, must
comprise a threat backed by sanction. This involves at least two separate claims: In one sense, it
can be understood as a thesis about the concept of law, maintaining that what we call “law” can
only be those norms which are backed by sanctions of the political sovereign. In a second,
though not less problematic sense, the intimate connection between the law and the threat of
sanctions is a thesis about the normativity of law. It is a reductionist thesis about law’s normative
character, maintaining that the normativity of law consists in the subjects’ ability to predict the
chances of incurring punishment or evil and their presumed desire to avoid it.
In addition to this particular controversy, there is the further question, concerning the relative
importance of sanctions for the ability of law to fulfill its social functions. Hans Kelsen, for
instance, maintained that the monopolization of violence in society, and the law’s ability to
impose its demands by violent means, is the most important of law’s functions in society.
Law’s only function in society is essentially tied to its coercive aspects. Solving recurrent and
multiple coordination problems, setting standards for desirable behavior, proclaiming symbolic
expressions of communal values, resolving disputes about facts, and such, are important
functions which the law serves in our society, and those have very little to do with law’s coercive
aspect and its sanction-imposing functions.
For example, there may be many reasons that bear on the question of how fast to drive on a
particular road—the amount of pedestrian traffic, impending turns in the road, etc.—but drivers
may comply better with the balance of those reasons by following the legal speed limit than if
they tried to figure out all the trade-offs in the moment. The legitimacy of the legal speed limit
would thus be derived from the way in which it aids people in acting in better compliance with
the balance of the right reasons.
Now, it follows that for something to be able to claim legitimate authority, it must be of the kind
of thing capable of claiming it, namely, capable of fulfilling such a mediating role.

 Law is institutional in nature;

There are institutions which formulate, implement, amend, enforce and run the law. These
institutions are meant to be run under law themselves too. Every specific law is implemented
by some institution ex NEPRA, NADRA, PEMRA, Cantonment boards etc

Legal institutions

The main institutions of law in industrialized countries are independent courts, representative

parliaments, an accountable executive, the military and police, bureaucratic organization, the
legal proffession and civil society itself.
The custom and practice of the legal profession is an important part of people's access to justice,
whilst civil society is a term used to refer to the social institutions, communities and partnerships
that form law's political basis.
Judiciary
A judiciary is a number of judges mediating disputes to determine outcome. Most countries have
systems of appeal courts, answering up to a supreme legal authority. In the Pakistan, this
authority is Supreme Court, in Australia, the High Court; in the UK, the Supreme Court.
A judiciary is theoretically bound by the constitution, just as all other government bodies are. In
most countries judges may only interpret the constitution and all other laws.
Legislature
Some examples of legislatures are the house of parliament in Pakistan, the Congress in
Washington D.C., the Bundestag in Berlin, the Duma in Moscow. By the principle of
representative government people vote for politicians to carry out their wishes. Although
countries like Israel, Greece, Sweden and China are unicameral, most countries are bicameral,
meaning they have two separately appointed legislative houses.
In the 'lower house' politicians are elected to represent smaller constituencies. The 'upper house'
is usually elected to represent states in a federal system. To pass legislation, a majority of the
members of a legislature must vote for a bill in each house.
Executive
The executive in a legal system serves as the center of political authority of the state. In
a parliamentary system, as with Pakistan, Britain, Italy, Germany, India, and Japan, the executive
is known as the cabinet, and composed of members of the legislature. The executive is led by
the head of government, whose office holds power under the confidence of the legislature.
Because popular elections appoint political parties to govern, the leader of a party can change in
between elections.
The head of state is apart from the executive, and symbolically enacts laws and acts as
representative of the nation. Although the role of the executive varies from country to country,
usually it will propose the majority of legislation, and propose government agenda.
Military and police
While military organizations have existed as long as government itself, the idea of a standing
police force is a relatively modern concept.
The military and police carry out enforcement at the request of the government or the courts. The
term failed state refers to states that cannot implement or enforce policies; their police and
military no longer control security and order and society moves into anarchy, the absence of
government.
Bureaucracy
 Like the military and police, a legal system's government servants and bodies that make up its
bureaucracy carry out the directives of the executive.
Legal profession
A corollary of the rule of law is the existence of a legal profession sufficiently autonomous to
invoke the authority of the independent judiciary; the right to assistance of a lawyer in a court
proceeding emanates from this corollary—In order to maintain professionalism, the practice of
law is typically overseen by either a government or independent regulating body such as a bar
association, bar council or law society. Modern lawyers achieve distinct professional identity
through specified legal procedures (e.g. successfully passing a qualifying examination), are
required by law to have a special qualification and are constituted in office by legal forms of
appointment (being admitted to the bar)
Civil society
 Nowadays in post-modern theory civil society is necessarily a source of law, by being the basis
from which people form opinions and lobby for what they believe law should be.
Freedom of speech, freedom of association and many other individual rights allow people to
gather, discuss, criticize and hold to account their governments, from which the basis of
a deliberative democracy is formed. The more people are involved with, concerned by and
capable of changing how political power is exercised over their lives, the more acceptable
and legitimate the law becomes to the people. The most familiar institutions of civil society
include economic markets, profit-oriented firms, families, trade unions, hospitals, universities,
schools, charities, debating clubs, non-governmental organizations, neighborhoods, and religious
associations.

 Universal Application Of Law

The universal application of law elaborates as to how law tackles all citizens equally. I need to
clarify here that although all citizens are equal before law, yet law discriminates and classifies
citizens in different categories. Application of law is different on citizens belonging to different
categories, but same on people belonging to same category.
For citing in illustration, in Pakistan, income tax law applies only on citizens having attained the
age of 21 or above, any crime committed by a child under 7 years of age is not punishable, vote
can be casted if 18 years of age has been attained etc.
In these examples, citizens are not equally treated under law, rather specific categories of citizens
liable to follow a law, are equally bound to follow law.