Defining Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Defining Law - Essay Example Undoubtedly, to be of use, most rules or systems of rules require a method of enforcement, whether the method be remedial in nature, such as a civil judgment, or a penal sanction imposed in a criminal matter. John Austin, a proponent of the social fact thesis of legal positivism, contends that the primary distinguishing feature of a legal system is whether its rules can be enforced (1995). Austin argues that a rule of law in society is legally valid if and only if that rule is commanded by the society's sovereign and is backed up with the threat of sanction, or enforcement (1995). As such, it is Austin's position that the essential element of a law is whether someone has the ability to sanction its noncompliance. Austin's position seems tenable. Indeed, without enforcement, laws have no effect. To ensure compliance, and in the absence of any moral obligation to obey a law, an absence which we must presume, a law must impose a consequence for a violation.