Publication details
The Binding Effect of Natural Sources of Law
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | In continental Europe it has traditionally been distinguished between formal sources of law and natural sources of law. Both are of considerable importance for the legislative activity of the lawmaking body. The lawmaking body when it legislates is bound by formal sources of law, such as the Constitution, international covenants or legal acts of international organizations. The formal sources of law provides the lawmaking body commands about statutes that should be adopted. They also put forward limits beyond which should not be legislated in the sense that particular human rights could not be infringed. By disobeying such commands of formal sources of law, the lawmaking body creates an unconstitutional statute and its behavior could even be considered as unconstitutional. Apart from formal sources of law, there are natural sources of law that represent all phenomena, geographic facts or social events which caused that the law of particular state is what it is. Therefore, natural sources of law are the foundation of our legal system and at the same time they serve as an inspiration for further legislative activity. Having said that, we could ask if it is possible to agree that the lawmaking body is bound not just by formal sources of law, but also by natural sources of law. In other words, is it possible to claim that natural sources of law are not just an inspiration, but can also order the lawmaking body commands in the similar manner as the formal sources of law do? Based on the case analysis of actual unconstitutional legal provision, I am intending to provide proof of the binding effect of natural sources of law on the lawmaking body. Furthermore, I argue that if the lawmaking body disobeys natural sources of law, it would meet the same consequences as it faces when it disobeys formal sources. |
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