Part I

By H. Suudi, H. Ismail, Sadia A.

Introduction to law

Law and its important:

One of the many ways in which human societies can be distinguished from animal groups is by reference to social rules. We eat and sleep at certain intervals: we work on certain days for certain periods: our behavior towards others is controlled directly and indirectly, through moral standards, religious doctrines, social traditional and legal rules.

Human beings have always lived together under with one kind or another.

It does not matter where in the world it does not matter in what age whether the society in which they lived was basic or complex by our present day standard. They have always matter of necessity lived by rules. These rules are likely to be influenced by nature and every one has survival: religion or pagan may influences them. They will cater for the ideas right or wrong that are instinctive has been developed to suit the society in which they lived. Let us think our selves.

If we form a club or group even in an informal setting. what is the first thing we will do? All certainly we will choose a leader or organizer and make up some rules. At firs we may be satisfied with them (with that rules). As time goes by we will change and adopt them to suit our needs, and any new ideas we may have, but we will not be able to manage with out any rules at all. Even criminals who plan crime will we eat must be of certain quality and standards as laid down by the law.

Origins of law

“law” is simply a body of generally accepted “rules of behavior’ that a particular society, acting collectively, accepts as appropriate for its own self governance. In national contest, “laws” tend to be handed down by a sovereign body a king, tribal chief, a council of state, a parliament or some other sufficiently authoritive body and they tend to be handed down to the countries “subjects” the subjects are then expected to obey those laws usually under threat of some generally accepted criminal punishment or civil section for failing to do so.

If we think about out own family and school, past or present, we will know that there are things that we have to do and things we are not allowed to do. Some of these rules will be very obvious and we would expect to find them In any family or school. Some may apply only in our lives. They may be sensible or they may seem to us or to outsiders to be strange- even foolish. we may well question these rules but we will be told that there is no point in doing so: this is how things have always been and how they are – the law is the law’!

Very often these rules will be in force because your parents and school are handing down to you a way of living which has been tried and tasted and which has suited them over many years. Whether they are sensible or silly, useful or useless serious or fun, you still live by them.

Because it has become the custom to do so. Gradually over a period of time these customs may change to adapt to the new times, just like the rules if a sport.

In many countries there are three main kinds of rules.

*Rules that are the basic commonsense rules of everyday life we must have rules that forbid us to do things which almost everyone thinks of as plainly and morally wrong.

*Rules which govern things which have become important on our particular community and about which we have learned from experience.

*Rules which have gradually developed over a period of many years because it has become the custom to do things in a particular way, and that custom has become a settled and accepted way of behavior.

People do sometimes use the expression ‘laws’ when they are talking about the rules by which they live their own lives ‘this is laws in our school’ these are the laws of football’ we all know what may happens if we break these ‘laws’ there will likely be punishment or in the case of sport, penalties of one kind or another.

In many countries there are certain rules certain rules which are there to be obeyed by every one.

By you, by our parents and family, by your teachers by every one who is old enough to behave responsibly. As we shall see, many of these rules have grown up out of custom the customs of town and country, which have developed over the centuries and which have been adopted by the judges or legislative sitting in their courts or parliament houses many more rules have been laid down all by parliament. If any of us breaks these rules we may be brought before a court of law.

We may be punished by the court or ordered to make amends in some way. All the rules the could result in the courts deciding to take action against us if we have broken them are called laws.

Nature of law

The law is cultural institution an invention of people at a functional level, the law may be described as rules recognized by the courts and applied by them, in the understanding that ultimately the orders made by the courts under the authority of these rules will be enforced by the state. The notion of enforcement of law in a society like ours: law does not exist in the abstract it exist only because, in the ultimate issue the state will enforce it.

This proposition applies not only to the criminal law (the “civil law”) as well. If a court makes an order against the un success full party in civil proceedings and that party disobey the order, for example refuses to pay a sum of money, then various modes of enforcement are available, modes which depend ultimately on the application of the power of the state. For example, the court sheriff may be empowered to seize the property of the judgment debtor and sell it off.

Or the person who refuses to obey a court order, such as an injunction, may be goaled for contempt of court.

Definition of law

In modern world the word of ‘law’ has two distinct meaning there are the physical laws, laws of nature that we learn in studying the natural science such as physics, chemistry, and biology. A primary example is the law of gravity.

A second meaning of the world of law refers to rules governing our conduct. A law prohibiting stealing does not make it physically impossible for a person found guilty of stealing it says that one should not steal and that one will be punished if found guilty of stealing. This is a normative law and risk the consequences: one cannot break the law of gravity.

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Source: Somaliland Times