NORMATIVE SYSTEM: CLASSIFICATION AND EXAMPLES - ARTE - 2025

The normative system is the set of norms and institutions, as well as the entities that apply the law that regulates society in a specific territory. It includes the creation, application and teaching of legislation. The regulatory system is managed by the State to facilitate coexistence, establishing rules of conduct for individuals.

Usually one speaks of different sets of normative systems; however, each country has its own system. In other words, the same regulations are not applicable in all countries. For this reason, the same activity may appear as a crime in the regulatory system of one country and no sanction may be applicable under the regulatory system of another.

The legal system and the regulatory system have a close and direct relationship, and in democratic countries the Constitution stands as the maximum regulation of the legal system and as the basis on which the regulatory system is based.

Classification

How is the regulatory system classified? Legal norms, which are the basis of legality in society, have characteristics that differentiate them from each other.

In order to outline them and better explain their application, they are classified taking into account their hierarchy, their material scope of validity and their spatial scope of validity.

Hierarchy

Not all legal norms enjoy the same category; it means that there are superior and inferior in rank. This supposes the existence of a hierarchy between them.

This hierarchy becomes a guide to determine which is the applicable rule in case of conflict or confusion.

On the other hand, some rules need to support others; In other words, each legal norm is based on another higher norm of higher rank until reaching the Constitution.

In most legal systems, the highest level is the Constitution, followed by international treaties; then you will find the rest of the regulations according to each country.

For example, in the Mexican legal system, under international treaties, federal law and local law are at the same level.

Material scope of validity

Legal norms can be classified according to the material scope of validity; refers to the legal norms associated with the area of ​​law that they regulate. Within private law are the civil, private international, commercial fields, among others.

There are also other areas of law, such as social security, social assistance or work, which, due to the protectionist theme that they cover, seek to ensure the interest of the community against particular interests.

In addition, technological advances have given rise to new areas of law, such as computer law.

Spatial scope of validity

This classification is established according to the physical space where they are applicable. When the regulatory system is federal, these spatial scopes can be federal, local and municipal.

On the other hand, normative systems can be classified into the following large families:

-Continental Law.

-Anglo-Saxon law (Common law).

-Religious law.

-Socialist law.

- Mixed classification.

Examples

Anglo-Saxon law

Anglo-Saxon law is a set of unwritten laws based on precedents established by the courts.

This right influences the decision-making process in novel cases where the outcome cannot be determined based on existing statutes.

The US common law system evolved from a pre-colonial tradition in England, which spread to North America and other continents during the colonial period.

A precedent, known as stare decisis, is a record of judicial decisions that forms the basis of evaluation for future cases.

It is also known as jurisprudence and is based on detailed case records and similar statutes, as there is no official legal code governing the case at hand.

Preceding

The judge presiding over a case determines which precedents apply. The precedents of the higher courts are binding on the lower courts to promote stability and consistency in the US legal justice system.

However, lower courts may choose to modify or deviate from the precedents if the precedents are out of date, or if the current case is substantially different from the previous case. Lower courts can also choose to set aside the precedent, but this is rare.

Canon law

It is the normative system that regulates the external organization and government of the Church. Its function as a normative system is to order and direct the activities of Catholics towards the mission of the Church.

It was the first modern Western legal system and is the oldest legal system currently operating in the West. Furthermore, the unique traditions of Eastern canon law govern the 23 Eastern Catholic particular churches sui iuris.

Positive ecclesiastical laws, based directly or indirectly on immutable divine law or natural law, derive formal authority - in the case of universal enactment laws - from the supreme legislator, the high pontiff.

In his person, the pope possesses the total legislative, executive, and judicial power, while particular laws derive the formal authority from promulgation by a legislator inferior to the supreme legislator, be it an ordinary or delegated legislator.

No binding civil force

The actual material of the canons is not only doctrinal or moral in nature, but encompasses everything that the human condition implies.

It has all the ordinary elements of a mature legal system: laws, courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code for the Latin Church, as well as a code for the Eastern Catholic Churches, principles of legal interpretation, and coercive penalties.

It lacks binding civil force in most secular jurisdictions. Those who are well versed and expert in canon law, as well as canon law professors, are called canonists (or colloquially, canon lawyers). Canon law as a sacred science is called canonistics.

The jurisprudence of canon law is the set of legal principles and traditions within which canon law operates.

Instead, philosophy, theology, and the fundamental theory of canon law are areas of philosophical, theological, and legal study dedicated to providing a theoretical foundation for the canon.

References

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