The moral dimension of law

• Author: Iuliana Savu
• Position: Didactic and scientific degree/profession: Conf.univ.dr. Institution of origin: 'Spiru Haret' University, Faculty of Juridical and Adminstrative Sciences, Brasov
• Pages: 189-191

THE MORAL DIMENSION OF LAW

Savu Iuliana

Abstract

The a nalysis of the occurrence of la w shows tha t it was formed and a cquired p ersonality by gradual

separa tion from mora l norms and customs. Therefore it can be sa id that morals prec edes law and that both ha ve

evolved in close interdependence, being themes of analysis and reflection for philosophers a nd legal experts.

Key words: Law, morals, conscience, sanction s, social norms.

Introduction

Human society a ppears as a complex overla y of r ealities, which are rea l media for the existence,

development and expression of people’s consciousness and facts. Thus, human activity is done in pra ctice within

a framework that is simultaneously social, politica l, economic, natural, cultur al, ideological, etc.

Social realities know a great diversity and get a complex and dynamic character, adequate to the society

in which they take place.

The great diversity of social relations determine the existence of a multiplicity of social norms aimed at

influencing people’s behavior, which also include ethical (moral) and legal norms, which are in a n undeniable

relationship.

Law (ro. drept, la t. dir igo, dir igere) – is a socio-human science whose research object is the legal

reality that is an inalienable dimension of the human existence in particular socio -historical conditions.

Moral is a science that studies the norms of behavior in society, teaching us to do “good” and avoid

“evil”.

Moral can be defined as the science of good and happiness, the science of mores, “all the rules

governing the relations between people” (P. Sollier).

Ştefan Odobleja (Consonantist P sychology, Bucharest, 1982) believes that moral is:

- the science of prevention and therapeutics of evil;

- philosophy and physical and mental hygiene of social life;

- the science of social balance;

- the science of morality and immorality, rights and duties, vices and virtues;

- the science of agreement or consonance between the individuals’ interests or between the

individual’s interests and the society’s interests;

- the science of harmony and balance between self and society.

Moral is all the skills, feelings and beliefs, attitudes and mentalities, principles and norms, values and

ideals regarding the relations between the individual and the society, which manifest in deeds and actions, in an

individual’s behavior.

The sphere of the concept of morals includes moral conscience (beliefs, concepts, values, idea ls), norms

or moral principles and moral relations; the latter become objective through facts and actions at a social level.

Both the moral facts and the attitudes are estimated based on the fundamental ethical categories: good and evil,

duty, responsibility, etc.

Moral rules involve a pattern of the necessary conduct, and, also , sanctions of moral character in case of

non-compliance. Moral sanctions are given by the social e nvironment through public opprobrium i n response to

certain attitudes or immoral behavior of an individual; at the same time they are conceived inside the individual,

who becomes aware of his action and has regrets and is filled with remorse, etc.

It is impossible to apply legal rules, laws on an individual’s inner, on a per son’s moral beliefs, because

laws are designed for the outward acts. Inner life enjoys some privacy in which outsiders cannot enter by force.

The legall y sa nctioned individuals are likely to keep their own moral values intact, no matter if they are very

well or less well understood by him.

For moral norms, physical constraint is only an addition to the prop er moral sanction provided that the

immoral act is also prohibited by the state’s laws.

The complex interaction between the morals and law has concerned legal thinking since antiquity.

Ancient statutes expressly invoke moral principles, leaving the impressio n o f b eing identical to the legal rules

and norms. This fact does not indicate a fault theory (which can possibly be reproached the further legal

knowledge for confusing morals with law), but t he circumstances which were character istic of the initial stage of

law, found in an undifferentiated stage with the morals.

 Didactic and scientific degree/profession: Conf.univ.dr. Institution of origin: “Spiru Haret” University, Faculty of Juridical and

Adminstrative Sciences, Braşov; e-mail address: savuiulia2008@yahoo.com