FUNDAMENTALS OF

LAW
MARC MACBETH TOLEDO
 ORDER OF SOCIETY

• Human beings live in a society,

• Society means; people living together,
• There must be an “Order” to live
together,
• “Order of Society” is provided by
social rules,
• Social rules are; rules of good
manners, moral rules, religious rules
and rules of Law...
 WHY DO PEOPLE NEED RULES?

WHY DOES SOCIETY NEED AN“ORDER”?

 “SOCIAL ORDER RULES”

are necessary for preventing chaos

and anarchy in society, and for
providing peace and security for
everybody.
SOCIAL ORDER RULES:

•Rules Of Good Manners

•Moral Rules
•Religious Rules
• Legal Rules
LAW OR LEGAL ORDER IS ONLY
ONE OF THE PARTS THAT MAKE
UP THE SOCIAL ORDER

LEGAL RULES ARE;

MOST IMPORTANT AND MOST
EFFECTIVE SOCIAL RULES WITHIN THE
ORDER OF SOCIETY,

LEGAL RULES AND INSTITUTIONS

CONSTITUTE THE LEGAL ORDER OF
A COUNTRY.
 LEGAL RULES

regulate individuals’ behaviors to

each other and society, for
protecting rights and freedom of
everybody, and for providing
security and equality for all.
 LEGAL ORDER PROVIDES;

Peace; legal rules restrict the power of

PEACE
individuals and groups to secure other’s
rights,
SECURITY
Security; legal order protects the weak
individual and groups against the powerful
EQUALITY
ones,
Equality; everybody is equal in front of law,
FREEDOM

Freedom; restricted but steady freedom is

guaranteed for everybody.
 MORAL ORDER

• The most important rules of the social

conduct, apart from the law, are moral
rules.
• Moral rules are principles, or standards,
concerning “right “ or “wrong” conduct,
which is also called “ethics”.
• Moral Rules reflect the values which are
embraced as desirable or ideal standards of
human conduct in that society.
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MORALITY

• Whether an action and/or contract

is against good morals is usually
determined according to general
standards of morality.
• Generally subjective morality
standards of a person are not
taken into account.
LAW AND ETHICS; IN OTHER WORDS, LEGAL
AND MORAL RULES ARE RELATED, INSOFAR
BOTH ARE CONCERNED WITH HUMAN
CONDUCT.
• Similar rules could be seen sometimes
in legal and moral rules,
• The law makes direct reference to
moral rules in some cases,
• Some moral rules are not regulated as
legal rules, or in contrary, some legal
rules are irrelevant to moral order.
 EXAMPLES FOR THE SIMILAR CASES
EXISTED IN BOTH LEGAL AND MORAL
RULES,
• To rescue a person injured in an
accident is a moral duty, besides a
legal duty regulated under article 98
of Criminal Code.
• Contracts to bribe a judge or testify
falsely in court are void and also
prohibited by Criminal Code, because
they are contrary to moral rules.
THE LAW MAKES DIRECT REFERENCE
TO MORAL RULES IN SOME CASES,

• Good faith which is essentially a moral

principle, has also been made a
fundamental principle of law.

“Every person is bound to exercise his rights

and fulfill his obligations according to the
principles of good faith”
SOME MORAL RULES ARE NOT
REGULATED AS LEGAL RULES, OR IN
CONTRARY, SOMETIMES LEGAL RULES
ARE IRRELEVANT TO OR EVEN BE IN
CONFLICT WITH MORAL RULES;
SELFISHNESS IS CONTRARY TO
GOOD MORAL BUT LAWFUL.
LICENSED PROSTITUTION IS IMMORAL
BUT LAWFUL.
 RELIGIOUS ORDER

• Religious rules are one of the most important social order

rules and affected legal orders of societies for centuries.
• However, where law is made an integral part of a
religion, a serious problem arises. Religious rules can not
be changed or altered because of being the will of God.
On the other hand, legal rules have to be flexible
dependent upon the changing needs of the society.
• Additionally, the conscience of individual is not free
when religion controls the law.
• The law is separated from religion, by taking a neutral
position towards it, in modern times because of these
reasons, which is called as “Secularism”.
 SECULARISM

• Secularism does not mean that the law completely

ignores religion, on the contrary, religion as a social
institution, is among the areas regulated by law.
• Religion is not an institution and doctrine shaping
the Structure of the State under the principle of
Secularism.
• Religious beliefs of citizens are protected by law as
a fundamental freedom which is called “freedom
of belief”.
THE PHILIPPINE ORGANIC ACT OF 1902
PROVIDED, AMONG OTHER THINGS,
"THAT NO LAW SHALL BE MADE
RESPECTING AN ESTABLISHMENT
OF RELIGION OR PROHIBITING THE
FREE EXERCISE THEREOF, AND THAT
THE FREE EXERCISE AND ENJOYMENT
OF RELIGIOUS PROFESSION AND
WORSHIP, WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION
OR PREFERENCE, SHALL FOREVER BE
ALLOWED."
THE RIGHT OF A MAN TO WORSHIP GOD IN HIS OWN
VIEW IS GUARANTEED BY THE BILL OF RIGHTS
UNDER ARTICLE III, SECTION 5 OF THE 1987
CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIPPINES WHICH STATES
THAT:

“NO LAW SHALL BE MADE RESPECTING AN

ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIGION, OR
PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF.
THE FREE EXERCISE AND ENJOYMENT OF
RELIGIOUS PROFESSION AND WORSHIP,
WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION OR PREFERENCE,
SHALL FOREVER BE ALLOWED. NO
RELIGIOUS TEST SHALL BE REQUIRES FOR
THE EXERCISE OF CIVIL OR POLITICAL
RIGHTS.”
LAWS VS RIGHTS
 “Law” means objective rules, but
“Right” is a “subjective authority”
given to a person to apply the rules of
Law.
 ARTICLE III
BILL OF RIGHTS

SECTION 1. NO PERSON SHALL BE

DEPRIVED OF LIFE, LIBERTY, OR
PROPERTY WITHOUT DUE PROCESS
OF LAW, NOR SHALL ANY PERSON
BE DENIED THE EQUAL
PROTECTION OF THE LAWS.
“Eyes of justice are blind”

Everyone is equal before the law

“Ignorance of the Law

Excuses No One”
Functions of
LAW
 Definition of LAW

 A set of rules of conduct established by

government for all members of society to obey
and follow.
Name all the
laws you
can think of
that might
apply to
these
situations.
MAIN FUNCTIONS OF
LAW
THINGS TO CONSIDER
 Provides a framework within which all
members of a society must behave
 Reflects a society’s values
4 MAIN FUNCTIONS OF LAW
1) PROVIDES A BASIS FOR SETTLING
DISPUTES OR DISAGREEMENTS -
peacefully through discussion and negotiation
or through the courts as a last resort.
2) ESTABLISHES RULES OF CONDUCT
-minimizes or reduces possible conflicts
ie: drinking age, speed limits, seatbelts, others???
3) PROTECTS RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
-court system, RCMP, provincial and local police forces ensure
public safety and the protection of life and property.
Criminal Law -prohibits individual’s rights
Constitutional Law -ensures individual rights aren’t taken too far
Charter of Rights and Freedoms -limits law makers and enforcers
4) PROTECTION FOR SOCIETY
-protects people from groups who might take
advantage of you.
ie: Contract Law -protection from retailers,
landlords…
Labour Law -minimum wage, working conditions
 ACTIVITY

1) Write down four “unfair” laws on a piece of paper.

2) Find a partner and share your statements with your partner.

Reach a consensus on 2 of the eight laws that you think
should be changed.

3) Find another pair to share your opinions with. Reach a

consensus on only 4 laws you feel should be changed.

4) Each group write their “bad laws” on the board.

As a class choose which are the four worst laws from all the
lists.
What causes laws to change?

1) DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES
2) TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES
3) CHANGES IN VALUES
4) NATIONAL EMERGENCY
 1) DEMOGRAPHIC
CHANGES
 Change relating to birth and death
rates, trends in immigration,
education and employment.
Ex: pay equity for women, shift from
rural to urban in 1st half of 20th
Century lead to improvements in
working conditions for factories,
Medicare (Medical Care Act in
1966-Tommy Douglas)
 2) TECHNOLOGICAL
CHANGES

 Decides which level of government has

jurisdiction over new inventions.
Ex: telephone, satellite, radio, Internet…
3) CHANGES IN
VALUES

 People used to tolerate certain

forms of behaviour in the past
that would be considered
outrageous today. Lobby
groups react to make changes
to the Criminal Code
Ex: Increased penalties for drunk
driving, anti-smoking laws for
public places, discrimination of
minority groups…
 4) NATIONAL
EMERGENCY
 Changes the law to respond to national emergencies
which arise.
Ex:
Income Tax Act - response to depression after WW1
Anti-Terrorism Act/Public Safety Act – response to terrorist
attacks on US which greatly increases the investigative
powers of police and security forces.
“RULE OF LAW”- the fundamental
principle that society is governed by laws
applying equally to all persons and that
neither any person, nor the government is
above the law.

 Formulated in the Magna Carta (list of legal rights that the English
barons forced King John to sign in 1215)
 Says laws are necessary to keep society orderly
 Applies equally to everyone, including highest officials
 Every person has legal rights which can’t be taken away, unless they
break the law
 Changes must occur in an orderly fashion and in a way that reflects
the decisions of a democratically elected government.
THANK YOU!