Definition of Natural Law

The right natural (or iusnaturalismo in Latin) is one of the central themes of the philosophy of law. It can be said that natural law is a philosophical conception of law.

The central idea of ​​Natural Law

Natural law is based on the consideration that the set of laws are based on a system of supreme and universal norms. In other words, there is a higher truth that governs the elaboration of legal norms. This implies that a law determined is considered as fair because said law refers to a universal idea of ​​justice.

The philosophical approaches underlying natural law

Already in the ancient world some philosophers (for example the Stoics) held that the set of living beings are part of an ordered whole. This assumes that nature has fixed laws and these laws should serve as a guide to the conductmoral and the laws made by men.

Later, other philosophical approaches (for example the rationalism) have considered that human reason has universal principles, which are the reference for moral considerations and legislative proposals.

Natural law maintains that there is a human nature that is the basis of the human sciences and also of the legal system. Philosophers and jurists in favor of natural law as a general model that inspires concrete laws understand that the Human nature has universal principles and values ​​and, consequently, no law can go against the law natural.

The philosophical approach to natural law has consequences on the morality and on legal norms. It must be taken into account that natural rights are those that are had by the fact of being born, so they are not It deals with simple written rules, but the legal rules obey a general and immutable idea about what is just.

Positive law, the opposite conception to natural law

Positive law or iuspositivism is the opposite conception to natural law. According to the positivist approach, there is no immutable human nature, nor a natural reason, nor a pre-established order of nature. Consequently, the laws are not the consequence of a natural reason but of the own evolution of society and of the legal norms that are adapted to the circumstances of each era. For the iuspositivistas there is no natural right over the real right, reason why the laws are accommodating to the new social contexts.

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