Law and Morality

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 Law : Meaning
• Law, a set of rules
and principles
created and enforced
by the state.

• Laws are created by

formal institution e.g.
parliament.

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 Morals : Meaning
• Morals or ethics is a
study of supreme
good.
• A person's
standards of
behaviour or beliefs
concerning what is
and is not
acceptable for them
to do.
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• Law is ‘What is’

• Morality is ‘What ought to be’

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 Distinction : Law and Morality
Law
• Law regulates and controls the
external human conduct. It is not
concerned with inner motives. A
person may be having an evil
intention in his or her mind but law
does not care for it.
• Law will move into action only when
this evil intention is translated into
action and some harm is actually
done to another person.
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Morality
• Morality regulates and controls both the
inner motives and the external actions.
It is concerned with the whole life of
man.
• The province of law is thus limited as
compared with that of morality because
law is simply concerned with external
actions and does not take into its fold
the inner motives.
• Morality condemns a person if he or she
has some evil intentions but laws are
not applicable unless these intentions
are manifested externally.
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 Distinction : Law and Morality
Law
• Law is universal in a
particular society. All the
individuals are equally
subjected to it. It does not
change from person to
person.
• Political laws are precise
and definite as there is a
regular organ in every state
for the formulation of laws.
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Morals
• Morality is variable. It
changes from person to
person and from age to age.
Every person has his own
moral principles.
• Moral laws lack precision
and definiteness as there is
no authority to make and
enforce them.
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 Distinction : Law and Morality
Law
• Law is framed and enforced by
a determinate political
authority. It enjoys the sanction
of the state. Disobedience of
law is generally followed by
physical punishment.
• The fear of punishment acts as
a deterrent to the breach of
law.
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Morals
• Morality is neither framed nor
enforced by any political authority. It
does not enjoy the support of the
state. Breach of moral principles is
not accompanied by any physical
punishment.
• The only check against the breach of
morality is social condemnation or
individual conscience. 'Moral actions
are a matter of choice of inner
conscience of the individual, laws
are a matter of compulsion'.
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 Relationship between Law and Morals

• Long union with occasional desertion and

judicial separation.
• Have never been completely divorced.
• Development of law has been profoundly
influenced by morals.

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 Relationship between Law and Morals

Morals as the
basis of Law
Morals as the test
of the positive
Law
Morals as the end
of Law

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 Conclusion
Moral Morals
considera All human perfect
Law and tions play conduct the Law. If
Morals an and social law is to
act and importan relations remain
react t role cannot be closer to
upon and while regulated the life of
mould making, and the
each interpreti governed people, it
other. ng and by law cannot
exercising alone. ignore
morals.
law.

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• Morals are standards of conduct that are
generally accepted as right or wrong.

Our laws are supposed to be a reflection of

the moral values of the majority of our
society.

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• Laws sometimes serve to revive the moral
conscience of the people and create and
maintain such conditions as may encourage
the growth of morality.

• Laws regarding prohibition and spread of

primary education are examples of this nature.

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• Laws on
• Polygamy
• Homosexuality
• Suicide
• Abortion

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