Classification of Laws Module I Classification of Laws

Classification Mainly the laws is divided into four branches : (i) International law it includes public and private international laws. (ii) Substantive laws (iii) Procedural laws (iv) Municipal or National law it includes public and private law in India.

Classification International Law - It is the term commonly used for referring to laws that govern the conduct of independent nations in their relationships with one another. It differs from other legal systems in that it primarily concerns provinces rather than private citizens. Public International Law – Public International Law which governs the relationship between provinces and international entities, either as an individual or as a group. It includes the following specific legal field. It is the body of principles which governs relation of a nation or states with each other. Eg. Treaty Law, Humanitarian law, refugee Law, International Trade law , Law of sea, International criminal law etc. Private International law – It deals with a case & contracts between individuals of different nation or with a foreign element eg : An Indian gets into contract with a Pakistani . The rules that need to be followed by both and according to the contract. Supranational law – The law of supranational organizations, which concerns at present regional agreements where the special distinguishing quality is that laws of nation states are held inapplicable when conflicting with a supranational legal system.

Classification Municipal or national Law – In it rules & regulations are present within a territory. It is the national, domestic or internal law of a sovereign state. It includes not only law at the national level, but law at the state, provincial, territorial, regional or local levels. While as far as the law of the state is concerned, these may be distinct categories of law .For eg : IPC, CRPC, CPC, Law of Torts, Law of Contract, Company Law etc. It has two branches. Public law – It deals with public. Private law- It deals with individual.

Classification Public Law in Indian Context – It is a theory of law governing the relationship between individuals (citizens, companies) and the state. Under this theory , constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law are sub-divisions of public law. This theory is at odds with the concept of Constitutional Law, which requires all laws to be specifically enabled and thereby subdivisions of a Constitution. State activities are largely regulated by public law and they determines and regulates the organization and functioning of the State and also determines the relation of State with its subjects. It deals with the general public.

Classification Constitutional Law – It deals with the relationship between the state and individual and the relationships between different branches of the state, such as executive, the legislative and the judiciary. It is the law which determines the nature of the State and the structure of the Government . It is superior to the ordinary law. Ordinary law derives its force and authority from it. It can be written as well as unwritten. India has written constitution.

Classification Administrative law – It refers to the body of law which regulates bureaucratic managerial 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 (if they are different in that particular jurisdiction). This body of law regulates international trade, manufacturing, pollution, taxation and the like. This is sometimes seen as a subcategory of Civil Law and sometimes seen as public law as it deals with regulations of public institutions. It also deals with structure , power and functioning of the organs of administration, limit of the powers, method by which these powers are controlled including legal remedies available to a person against them when thre rights are infringed by there operation.

Classification Criminal law – It involves the state imposing sanctions for defined crimes committed by individuals or businesses, so that society can achieve its brand of justice and a peaceful social Order. It defines defence and prescribes punishment for men. Its aim is prevention of and punishment for offences. It maintains peace & order within the state.

Classification Law of persons – They are known as individual laws. Eg. Family law including Hindu law, Muslim law, Christian Law, Parsi law etc. Law of property – It is the law related to the property matters of the individual including movable and immovable properties both. Eg : Transfer of Property Act

Classification Law of Obligations – This law is subdivided into three branches: Contract Law – It is a form of private law. Under the contract law system, private promises are made between two parties and are legally enforced by a court of law. The court enforces those promises if the contract was made in accordance with private laws, such as specificity of the contract terms and conditions. And also court enforces only those promises or contracts which are made with lawful consideration and lawful object and also specifies the contract if needed terms and conditions. Quasi contracts – In certain circumstances when one person become accountable to any other person as if the other person has incurred certain liability in the contract though there is no agreement between the parties. These relations constituted contract without being the real contract between the parties. Therefore, such relations have been termed as Quasi-contracts. They are not contracts infact but are enforceable as contract on the ground of natural law and equity. Quasi contracts means relations like contract. It is not the formal contract but an implied contract which comes into existence in special circumstances.

Classification Law of Torts – The tort system is governed by private laws. A tort is an act that hurts someone. Or it is termed as civil wrong. The private law system imposes a legal duty not to commit torts, and allows a person to recover damages for such an injury. If a person is injured by someone else’s negligent or intentional actions, the person can sue under tort law.

Classification Conflict of Laws – It addresses the questions of : In which legal jurisdiction may a case be heard and The law concerning which jurisdiction apply to the issues in the case.

Classification Substantive laws – It is the statutory or written law that governs rights and obligations of those who are subject to it. Substantive law defines legal relationship of people with other people or between them and the state. It stands in contrast to procedural law, which comprises the rules by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil or criminal proceedings. It defines crimes and punishments (in the criminal law) as well as civil rights and responsibilities in civil law. It is codified in legislated statutes or can be enacted through the initiative process.

Classification It define rights and duties, while procedural rules of law provide the machinery for enforcing those rights and duties. However, the way to this clear differentiation between substantive law and, serving the substantive law, procedural law has been long, since in the Roman civil procedure the actio included both substantive and procedural elements. It refers to the body of rules that determine the rights and obligations of individuals and collective bodies. Substantive law refers to all categories of public and private law, including the law of contracts, real property, torts, and criminal law. For example : criminal law defines certain behavior as illegal and lists the elements of the governments must prove to convict a person of a crime.

Classification Procedural laws – It deals with the method and means by which substantive law is made and administered. The time allowed for one party to sue another and the rules of law governing the process of the lawsuit are examples of procedural laws. Procedural law is the body of legal rules that govern the process for determining the rights of parties. It comprises the rule by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil lawsuit, criminal or administrative proceedings. The rules are designed to ensure a fair and consistent application of due process (in the U.S.) or fundamental justice (in other common law countries) to all cases that come before a court.

Difference Substantive law defines how the facts in the case will be handled, as well as how the crime is to be charged. In essence, it deals with the ‘substance’ of the matter. Procedural law provides the ‘process’ that the case will go through (whether it goes to trial or not). The procedural law determines how a proceeding concerning the enforcement of substantive law will occur.