Exercise 4. Extend and explain the following statement.

In the English legal system an understanding of the basic distinctions between civil and criminal cases is very important.

DISCUSS

Discuss which of the following situations are a breach of civil law and which are a breach of criminal law:

* A enters a supermarket and shoplifts two bottles of wine.

* B fails to pay the monthly instalments due on the hire purchase of his car.

* C drives at 50 m.p.h. in an area where the speed limit is 30 m.p.h.

* D and E want to bring their marriage to an end, but they cannot agree on how to divide their property between them.

* F has been left with serious disabilities after an operation. F claims that the disabilities were caused by the surgeon’s negligence.

Law and morality

Morality is the herd-instinct in the individual.

Friedrich Nietzsche 1844-1900

So far we have only considered some divisions of law, and briefly discussed what is meant by law in general terms. Now it is necessary to look more widely at law and to compare it with concepts ofmorality and justice, and the ideas of rightsand duties.

The moral values of communities lay down a framework for how people should behave. Concepts of morality differ from culture to culture, although most will outlawextreme behaviour such as murder. Often morality is based on religious ideas: the Bible teachings provide a moral codefor Christian communities and the teaching in the Koran for Muslims. The law of a country will usually reflect the moral values accepted by the majority of the country, but the law is unlikely to be exactly the same as the common religious moral code. One example is adultery: this is against the moral code for both Christians and Muslims but is not considered a crime in Christian countries: however, in some Muslim countries (though not all) it is against the criminal law.

The moral standards of a community are recognized as having a profound influence on the development of law, but in complex societies, morality and law are never likely to be co-extensive. Major breaches of a moral code (such as murder and robbery) will also be against the law, but in other matters there may not be consensus.

In England and Wales there has been a move away from religious belief and the way that the law has developed reflects this. Abortion was legalized in 1967, yet many people still believe it is morally wrong. A limited form of euthanasia has been accepted as legal with the ruling in Airedale NHS Trust v Bland (1993), where it was ruled that medical staff could withdraw life support systems from a patient who could breathe unaided, but who was in a persistent vegetative state. This ruling meant that they could withdraw the feeding tubes of the patient, despite the fact that this would inevitably cause him to die. Again, many groups believe that this is immoral as it denies the sanctity of human life.

There are also differences between law and morality in the way the two develop and the sanctions imposed. The following is a suggested list of such differences.

1. Morality cannot be deliberately changed; it evolves slowly and changes according to the will of the people. Law can be altered deliberately by legislation: this means that behaviour which was against the law can be ‘de-criminalized’ overnight. Equally, behaviour which was lawful can be declared unlawful.

2. Morality is voluntary with consequences, but generally carrying no official sanction (though some religions may ‘excommunicate’); morality relies for it effectiveness on the individual’s sense of shame or guilt. Law makes certain behaviour obligatory with legal sanctions to enforce it.

3. Breaches of morality are not usually subject to formal adjudication; breaches of law will be ruled on by a formal legal system.

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 822