Law and Morality

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Law and morality essay Law is a set of rules and boundaries that are established by authorities which must be obeyed, otherwise, a sanction may be given. Law was described by Sir John Salmond as ‘the body of principles recognised and applied by the state in the administration of justice’. While Morals are beliefs, values and principles that are set by society or part of a society, determining what is right and wrong. Unlike legal rules, compliance with moral rules is voluntary, that are often informally enforced through social or domestic pressure. Laws can be instantly made and instantly cancelled. It can exist one minute and the next it does not for example when an act is repealed. Morals form slowly and change slowly as society’s attitudes change. There is usually a slow transitional period e.g. society’s attitude to premarital sex. A law either exists or it does not. Its existence can be established. Morals are much vaguer in definition. Although society is generally that certain activities are immoral, e.g. murder, as many issues society’s opinion is divided such as homosexuality. Breach of law leads to some form of punishment or remedy enforced by the state. Breach of moral leads to some form of social condemnation but the state is not involved. Society’s attitude to law is irrelevant. A law exists even if the vast majority disobey it. Morals are rules that reflect society’s values and beliefs. Therefore these values and beliefs are vital for the existence of moral. Law can often be seen reinforcing and seeking to uphold our moral values. But this can be seen as a major problem, regarding the nature of any moral code. Morals will consistently change over time, to reflect a change in attitudes, and the law must attempt to keep up in these situations. An example of this can be seen in R v R (1991), which changed the law, so that rape within marriage
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