1.1.2 Law and Morality
Legal rules are often compared to and contrasted with moral rules. One reason why
this happens is because we consider it desirable that the law does not violate
morality. Conformity of the law with morality is, in the eyes of some (adherents
of “natural law”; see Chap. 14 ), a precondition for the existence of law: a rule that
clearly violates morality would not be a binding legal rule at all.
Another reason is that governments see it as their task to enforce the law but not
to enforce morality. Therefore, it is important that legal rules can clearly be
identified as such and distinguished from rules that are “merely” moral.
1.1.2.1 Differences Between Law and Morality
Degrees vs. Binary The law has as one of its main functions to guide behavior, by
telling people what to do or not to do in the form of prohibiting and prescribing acts.
However, most of morality isnotconcerned with guidelines for behavior: it does
not directly tell us what we should do or should not do. Morality primarily sets
standards through which we can evaluate behavior as “good,” “not so good,” or
simply “bad.” Good and bad come in degrees: better or worse. From the legal point
of view, a particular act is either permitted or not, without such grey areas.
However, there are moral rules that do prescribe behavior. Take for example the “Thou
shalt not kill” of the Ten Commandments.Moral Standards Important A second difference is that moral norms and
standards are normally considered to be important for the well-functioning of
society, while this is not necessarily the case for all legal rules.
For instance, typical moral rules forbid lies, and wounding or killing other persons. Lying,
wounding and killing are serious issues, and so there are moral guidelines that deal
with them.
These moral rules have equivalents in legal rules, which therefore also deal with important
issues. However, there are many legal rules that deal with issues that are not broadly
experienced as “serious,” such as the amount of salt allowed in food, the precise form in
which requests to government agencies must be made, or the way in which bicycles must be
equipped with lighting.State Enforcement A third difference between law and morality is that being legal
is a precondition for rules that are to be enforced by state organs; moral precepts as
such are not enforced in that way. However, many moral rules and standards have
counterparts in the law so that state enforcement of morality is possible in the form
of state enforcement of the law.
Examples include:- the moral prohibition to kill people, enforced under criminal law, which imposes a
penalty for “murder” and “manslaughter” (legal terms), and - the prohibition to destroy someone else’s property, enforced through tort law rules,
which attach an obligation to compensate the damage caused by the destruction.
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