Sources of Law

Introduction

The study is related to the sources of law which particularly focuses on the sources of law in the United States in comparison to the sources of law in the European Union. Before moving on to consider how law is made in United States and how the legal system works, it is imperative and essential to be aware of what the sources of law are in United States and how its effectiveness is valid as compared to sources of law in the European Union. Through this, the study will facilitate how we find out where the authoritative statements of the legal laws or rules that are useful to determine duties, rights and remedies come from.

Sources of Law in the United States

The law in the United States is derived from the different sources; these sources of law include the statutory law, constitutional law, administrative regulations and also the common law that entails the case laws. The common law is considered as one of the most imperative and crucial source of law in the Constitution of United States, as all the other laws lie under it and they are secondary to that document and it is also important to understand that no law may contradict the Constitution of United States. The term source of law means anything that contributes or has contributed, to create all the legal rules applicable in a state at a given time (the positive law and the non-written).

Constitution

Constitution of United States is a written instrument that is agreed upon by the people of a particular state or the Union as the supreme rule of decision and action for all the departments that also include the branches and government officers in relation to all the relevant aspects enclosed by it. The Constitution of United States must control unless, it will be altered by the authority which set up it that is through the amendment, and in contrast to which any ordinance or the act of any the officer or department is void and null (Biersteker, 12-37).

The U.S. constitution sets the constraints of a government so the constitutions are written in very common language and have the least specificity. The source of U.S. Constitution of state and federal government that stipulates the constitutional rights of people in context of state, and in the Constitution of United States, the association between the states government and the federal government. The U.S. Constitution is difficult to amend and has the longest life. To make changes in the Constitution of United States, 3/4th of legislatures of state must endorse the amendment.

Statutes

Statutes are official written endorsement of a legislative body which can federal or state. The statutes can be criminal or civil in nature. The statutes are more detailed as compared to the constitution and they are enacted and written by the legislative body of state or congress as a solution to key issues. The statutes are not complicated to amend in comparison to constitution. The same procedure is used to endorse the statute ...