The Requirement of the Rule of Law - Essay Example

Role and purpose of law Importance of law The requirement of the rule of law is that individuals should be governed by rules that are generally accepted. The position objects to arbitrary decisions made by rulers. The requirement is that these rules should be abstract and general, apply equally to all individuals and certaini. The role of law, therefore, is to keep the society in check and maintain social stability. The purpose of the law is to provide for a smooth and efficient running of the society. In the context of Jane Austens’ Pride, and Prejudice (1853), the achievement of the role of law exemplified by: Protection The primary goal of any law is to protect the individuals who ascribe to that law. In order to receive protection from the state, there must be a law that provides a collective administration of the activities and conduct in the society. The importance of law is to provide the individuals in the society with protection from aggression from the other individuals in that society. The role of law here is not only to guard protect the individuals but also their property from harm or destruction. The concept of law is to poll all the rights of the individuals in the society and place it in within the discretion of an authority hat ensures that the rights of these individuals are maintained at all timesii. The law aims to protect the individual from physical harm, inconveniences, or any form of harm. The law also accords the property of the individual some protection from destruction, deterioration, or misuse by other individuals. The law protects the weak in society from the aggression of the strong and cushions these individuals from vulnerabilities. The pride and prejudice employ this concept of law through the provision of the custody of children in the circumstance of a divorce. The position according to the author is that the children retained in the custody of the father in the event of a divorce (Austin 1853). The law here puts into consideration the requirements of the children and strives to protect children from any harsh conditions. Because the wealth remained with the father the children would be better placed with their father rather than their mother. The law protects the welfare of children by placing them where hey will be provided for as it is the obligation of a man to provide for the family. The law also protects private property by prescribing the manner the property passes from one family member to another. Regulating social behavior The laws present at this time aim at regulating the conduct of the individuals in order to ensure the peaceful coexistence in their society. The desire of the law is to stabilize the desires of the society and keep societal behaviors in check. In order to ensure the peaceful coexistence in the society, it is important to have laws that protect the weak from the strong ones and provide a mechanism for the balance of inequalities.iii The law also provides methods of redress in circumstances where there arises violation of these laws and aims at deterring violations of laws by use of punishment. In pride and prejudice, this aspect of the law shown by the application of rules of inheritance to ensure there is no conflict regarding entitlements in matters of succession. The laws on marriage also provide guidance on the essentials surrounding marriage and the expected outcome in cases there are disagreements within the institution of marriage. The purpose of the laws here are top preventing anarchy and promote the common good of the individuals in the society. This results in a society that runs smoothly and enforces the standards of conduct prescribed by the legislation. Maintain peace The law ensures protection against violence and the intent to cause harm to other people in the society. The success of the society is reliant on the peace of the members of the society. The law ensures that there is protection of the members of society from harm. The law also ensures the protection of the property of the members of the society from damage from other individuals. The protection of property ensures productivity and security in the society.iv Civil order is an essential factor in the progression of the society. The law aims to protect private property and ensure the peaceful enjoyment of such property by the individual. John Austen (1853), covers this aspect of the purpose of law in pride and prejudice by the use of the concept of entailments in order to ensure the protection of private property from misappropriation and ensure the transition of this property from one individual to another. The concept of entailments in the pride and prejudice protects private property by providing the required principles to facilitate the succession of property of deceased individuals and reduce the occurrence of conflicts in this process. Although the concept of entailments as provided in the text may not follow the desires of the property owners, it provides a generally accepted mechanism by these individuals and aims at protecting their property and reducing conflicts associated with the transfer of the property upon their death. Maintaining the status quo The law aims at ensuring that the current situation of an individual remains as it is. By maintaining the status quo, the law ensures that the situation of the individual and the society does not deteriorate. This objective attained by providing laws that protect the rights of the individual in society. The availability of the rights of individuals in the law ensures the retention of the status quo of that individual.v This can be achieved by providing freedoms to individuals that ensure self-actualization. These freedoms provides the individual space for progress.vi This function of the law covered in the pride and prejudice trough the provision on the right to inheritance. Although the laws as provided for in the text are subject to some controversy in the modern society, they covered the aspect of maintaining the status quo. The provision of the law for the alignment of wealth towards the male gender to ensure it remained within the family. According to the law, the female child was not entitled to any inheritance and in the situation of absence of male children; the wealth entailment of the wealth went towards a close male relative. An entailment in this circumstance was a legal instrument that ensured that the landed property was not broken up in the inheritance. The practice was to leave the entire wealth to a single heir who was the eldest son in the family. Provide a means of settling disputes The law ensures that, in the circumstances, a dispute arises in the society or among individuals these laws provides mechanisms of settlement with the best interest of what is moral, ethical, or right. In case of such an occurrence, the law should facilitate the attainment of the solution without undue prejudice to any party in the dispute. The availability of laws that provide solutions or the way forward in times of conflict establishes a consensus between the parties. The law can provide for the terms of engagement of individuals before the actual engagement or provide these terms in the course of engagement of these individuals. The law provides for remedies in case of termination of the engagement or a compromise on the agreed or provided terms. The individuals can set their own terms that are enforceable in law or follow the provisions of law in settling such disputes.vii The pride and the prejudice bring out this aspect of the law of the provision of settlements. A settlement in this context infers to a legal document that makes a provision that the property that the wife brings into the institution of marriage ultimately belong to the wife and consequently reverts to the children. This provision is applicable although such property as provided for in the text is within the control of the husband during the period of marriage. This provision ensures that there are no disputes arising from the property of the wife. The provision in the procedure for divorce and on the property subject to the parties and custody of children in the circumstances of divorce also ensure that the process of divorce and any issues arising are settled in accordance with the applicable law. Allow for maximum self-assertion by individuals The purpose of the here is to ensure that the individual is not inconvenienced by anything in the quest for progression. The law provides guidelines that ensure that the protection of the interests of the individual. The role of the law here is to promote activities that lead to the realization of the expectations of the individual. The law aims to protect the property and the business of the individual in order to facilitate productivity. The law provides a structure for individuals to be successful in the society.viii This aspect of the laws ensures that the society progresses. The law protects advancement of individuals and, therefore, facilitates growth in the society. These laws facilitate learning by individuals without which the society would fall into a social default. The laws ensure that the services provided such as education and health care ascribe to some standards and regulations in order to ensure the society is not at risk. The law provides the standards that are expected from professionals such as lawyers, doctors, teachers, and nurses to maintain social good in the provision of these services. The pride and prejudice bring out this aspect by the provision of professions guided by some principles. The novel provides that the younger sons were expected to take up professions since they would not inherit the family property as the heir was the eldest son and the younger sons would wait until the elder son was deceased before getting the inheritance. The professions available then were the army, the navy, law or the church. The individuals who joined these professions aimed at acquiring some wealth through the provision of their services. Promoting social justice The importance of law is to ensure that the society is founded on the rule of equality. The law takes into consideration the aspect of human dignity and based on the concept of human rights and equality.ix The idea here is that the greater attainment of peace in the society is based on the idea of social justice. Social justice aims at attaining commitment to human rights and dignity. The idea of social justice ensures that there are no biases in any process and all individuals entitled to equal opportunities. Social justice follows there should be an equal distribution of wealth within the society. This concept provides that the individual cannot be deprived through prejudice or bias of an opportunity in favor of another individual. The pride and prejudice go against this concept in some aspects of the society. The novel provides that the promotion in the army in based on connections an individual has within that institution, but mainly reliant on the money an individual has. Austen further provides that the attainment of any higher rank in the army is not based on the abilities of the individual rather on the wealth an individual possess (1853). This position negates the concept of social justice. The desire for social justice is eminent in the literature of the novel, and the author portrays the dissatisfaction due to the lack of social justice. Although the law tries to attain the required expectations of the society, it has some shortcomings in its application. The law as described in the novel does not follow the predefined functions, but is sufficient in maintaining social order. Bibliography “The Function of Law in Society”, 3 Golden Gate U . L. Rev . 1973. http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/ggulrev/vol3/iss1/2 Asian Development Bank. Technical assistance for the role of law and legal institutions in Asian economic development. Asian Development Bank, 1995. Clark Charles E.. The Function of Law in a Democratic Society. Yale Law School Legal Scholarship Repository. Great IRX Hoax. The purpose of law, (n.d). http://www.famguardian.org/Subjects/LawAndGovt/Articles/PurposeOfLaw.htm Jane Austen. (1853). Pride and Prejudice. RD Bentley. Kelsen Hans . General Theory of Law And State; Law and society series. The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., 2007. Peacock , Anthony A.. Freedom and the Rule of Law. Rowman & Littlefield, 2010. Walston-Dunham Beth. Introduction to Law. Cengage Learning, 2008. Read More