Faculty of Economics & Administrative
Sciences
INTRODUCTION TO LAW
MAN 206
LECTURE 4
Gulay Suleymanoglu
L.L.B(Hons), L.L.M(International and European Law)
Member of Cyprus Bar Assosiation
M: gulay.suleymanoglu@neu.edu.tr
Classification of law
• Although all laws are made (or recognized) by the State they
vary in nature and have different functions. Different kinds of
laws may be classified according to the nature and scope of
the relations they are intended to be applied.
• Classifying the law, however, is no less difficult a task than
defining it.
• The law may be classified in many ways. The following are
examples:
- Domestic law and public international law
- Public law and private law
- Civil law and criminal law
Domestic law(Municipal law) v Public International Law
• Municipal law is state law or the internal law of the state.
• Municipal law is the national, domestic, or internal law of
a sovereign state defined in opposition to international law.
Municipal law includes not only law at the national level, but
law at the state, provincial, territorial, regional or local levels.
• International law is the body of rules which govern relations
between states.
• International law is the set of rules generally regarded and
accepted as binding in relations between states and between
nations.
• Public international law which governs the relationship
between states and international entities.
Public law v Private law
• Our brief study of the branches of law will primarily be based
on traditional distinction between public and private law.
• The distinction between public and private law refers to the
different types of relationship regulated by different legal
norms.
• Public law deals with the relationship and the resolution of
conflicts between individuals and the state.
• Private law as rule deals with relationships and resolution of
conflicts among private individuals.
• Consequently, legal rules which protected public interests
were considered public law while those protecting private
interests were regarded as private law.
Public law
• Public law is a theory of law that governs the relationship
between the state and the individual, who is considered to be
either a company or a citizen.
• Public law is the branch of law that governs the behavior of
people and is enforced by the state. Public law is distinct
from private law, which focuses only on people's relationships
with each other. Public law relates to a person's statemandated obligations to behave in a certain manner.
• Public law covers three sub-divisions:
- Constitutional law
- Administrative law
- Criminal law
Constitutional law
• Constitutional law regulates the social relations directly
connected to the exercise of state power. It defines the
structure of the State and its constitutional functions and
practices.
• It is concerned with such complex questions as the
distribution of governmental powers ( legislative, executive
and judicial) and the functions and responsibilities entailed in
the exercise of these powers.
• it sets out the form of government – how its different
branches work, how they are elected or appointed, and the
division of powers and responsibilities between them.
Traditionally, the basic elements of government are the
executive , the legislature and the judiciary.
• In fact, constitutional law lays down the basic principles for all
other branches of law.
• Constitutional law is the body of law that has been built up
around the living constitution. The constitution grants specific
powers to the State while placing specific limits on
government's authority to act.
Administrative law
• Administrative law refers to the body of law which regulates
procedures and defines the powers of administrative agencies.
These laws are enforced by the executive branch of
a government rather than the judicial or legislative branches.
• Administrative law is comprised of the body of rules that governs
between the administrative authorities and private individuals,
determine the legal status of government officials(civil servants)
and indicates the rights and liabilities of individuals in their dealings
with these officials as representatives of the State.
• The procedure by which these rights and liabilities are enforced is
also regulated by administrative law.
• In short, administrative law is the body of law built up around
administrative actions and decisions.
Criminal Law
• In well functioning State based on the rule of law, no person
is permitted to take the law into his own hands and punish
wrongdoers himself. Instead, it is administrative and judicial
authorities who are competent to ensure the security of
general public and where necessary to punish wrongdoers
by properly implementing the relevant laws.
• Criminal law belongs to that part of public law concerned
with criminal offences.
• Certain acts that violate the law are matters of public
concern and not simply personal issues between the
wrongdoer and the person who has suffered. These acts are
regarded as crimes committed against society and are dealt
with in a criminal court.
Private Law
• In contrast to the field of public law, where the State is always in a
superior position in its relations with individuals, private law is
concerned with relations and conflicts among individuals as private
persons.
• In the field of private law all persons are considered equal entities.
• In the field of public law, public authorities may impose legal
obligations upon persons regardless of whether they agree or not.
Legal obligations can thus be unilaterally imposed by the public
authorities.
• In the field of private law, however, the basis of every legal
obligation is in principles a voluntary agreement between the
parties.
Private Law
• In the field of private law, it is not the fact of guilty or
innocence that is at issue, but the nature and degree of
personal liability arising from a certain act.
• For example; in medical malpractice(is professional
negligence by act or omission by a health care provider) , the
first issue is whether the treating physician failed to exercise
the required level of care in relation to the patient. If the
physician is found at fault, he will be legally liable.
• The next matter for private law is to assess the level of
compensation due to injured party.
Branches of Private Law
• Private law may be divided into
•
-
Civil law
Contract law
Family law
Property law
Tort law
Civil Law
• Civil law covers such a vast area of relations that to define its limits is not
easy: legal rules related to personality, marriage, family relations,
property rights and obligations are all parts of civil law.
• Civil law deals with disputes between private parties, or negligent acts
that cause harm to others . For example, if individuals or companies
disagree over the terms of an agreement, or who owns land or buildings,
or whether a person was wrongfully dismissed from their employment,
they may file a lawsuit asking the courts to decide who is right. As well,
the failure to exercise the degree of caution that an ordinarily prudent
person would take in any situation may result in a negligence claim.
Depending on the circumstances, a person may be held responsible for
any damages or injury that occurs as a result of their negligence. Family
law cases involving divorce, parental responsibility for children, spousal
support, child support and division of property between spouses or
common law couples represent a large portion of the civil law cases
presented to the court.
Public law v Private law
• If you saw a man run from a convenience store with a
few pilfered products under his arm, he is violating public
law. He committed the crime of theft, and that affects
everyone.
• On the other hand, if your neighbor filed suit against you
because your barbeque smoke travels to his yard, you
may be violating private law. You infringed on your
neighbor's right to the peaceful enjoyment of his
property.
• Essentially, the difference between public law and private
law is whether the act or acts affect society as a whole or
an issue between two or more people.
Public law v Private law
• To simplify things, public law deals with issues that affect
the general public or state - society as a whole. Some of the
laws that its wide scope covers are:
• Administrative law - laws that govern government
agencies, like the Department of Education and the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission
• Constitutional laws are laws that protect citizens' rights as
afforded in the Constitution
• Criminal laws are laws that relate to crime
• Municipal laws are ordinances, regulations and by-laws
that govern a city or town
• International laws are laws that oversee relations between
nations.
Public law v Private law
• There are several differences between public law
and private law. The main difference is that public law
protects society as a whole and private law governs
interactions between individuals or groups. Public law is
typically determined and enforced by government
agencies, whereas the government typically removes
itself from the enforcement of private law.
• Public law is divided into several areas overseeing the
interaction between citizens or corporations and the
government. These areas include constitutional law,
administrative law, and criminal law. Each area of public
law governs specific areas of societal interactions and the
remedies available for violations of those laws.
Civil law
• Civil law is another name for private law which we have
already seen. It is concerned with rights and duties of
individuals towards each other. Its purpose is to resolve
disputes between individuals and organizations to provide a
remedy to one of the parties for what he alleges(says) he has
suffered.
• For example of remedies which can be provided by the civil
law are. Damages, an injunction( is an equitable remedy in the
form of a court order that compels a party to do or refrain
from specific acts) and an order for specific
performance(grants the plaintiff what he actually bargained fo
r in the contract rather than damages).
Criminal law
• This is part of the public law; it deals with wrong doings by
citizens and others against the state. For example; murder,
stealing etc. This system of law has been established to punish
wrongdoer and the punishment is imposed by the state.
• A body of rules and statutes that defines conduct prohibited b
y the government because it threatens and harms public
safetyand welfare and that establishes punishment to be impo
sed for the commission of such acts.
Criminal Law v Civil Law
• Crimes are considered offenses against the state, or society as
a whole. That means that even though one person might
murder another person, murder itself is considered an offense
to everyone in society. Accordingly, crimes against the state
are prosecuted by the state, and the prosecutor (not the
victim) files the case in court as a representative of the state.
If it were a civil case, then the wronged party would file the
case.
• Criminal offenses and civil offenses are generally different in
terms of their punishment. Criminal cases will have jail time
as a potential punishment, whereas civil cases generally only
result in monetary damages or orders to do or not do
something. Note that a criminal case may involve both jail
time and monetary punishments in the form of fines.
Criminal law v Civil law
• Civil cases are generally brought by private individuals or corporations
seeking to collect money owed or monetary damages. A criminal case
is brought by the local, state or federal government in response to a
suspected violation of law and seeks a fine, a jail sentence or both.
• Criminal activity occurs at both personal and business levels. Criminal
acts include burglary, assault, drug trafficking, theft and murder.
Criminal acts by businesses include fraud, industrial espionage and tax
evasion.
• Civil disputes can occur at a personal level - for instance, when
neighbours argue over late night noise or access to a shared driveway.
They can arise between individuals and businesses, such as when
customers refuse to pay their bills or companies fail to deliver a service
to an agreed level. And they can occur between businesses over the
right to use a brand name or trademark, for example.
•