Characteristics of the legal norms

The rules are general orders issued by an authority so that all regulate their own behavior. They have mandates implied by which it is intended to force compliance with them. It is because of this obligation that the rules differ from the advice, the recommendations and the warnings. These three are flexible to some degree and do not force the person to act on them.

The legal norms they take care of order coexistence in a society, in the strict sense that a society is by nature a stable and active union of people aimed at achieving a purpose or achieving a common good. These norms make relationships between people possible and regulate them until stronger bonds are formed between them.

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Characteristics of legal norms

• They are general
• They are social
• They are stable and uniform
• Predominant exteriority
• Coercibility
• Bilateralism creating correlative duties and rights

They are general

Legal norms are general because they are not directed at one person specifically, but to a totality, category or generality of people, which can be very numerous or limited. It can be, for example, the citizens who form a locality, or the managers of stores, or more specifically, the managers of women's clothing stores.

They are social

The most relevant characteristic of legal norms is their social essence. Not only in the sense of moral and religious norms, in which authority and subject constitute one society, but in the sense that the subjects addressed by legal norms must be united in a society. It is because they form a society that these rules apply to them.

They are stable and uniform

Since they must order coexistence in society and not only temporary and temporary conflicts, legal norms must be stable and uniform. They are, as such, the rules of life in society and rules should not be changed in the course of it, unless there are sufficiently compelling reasons to do so.

Predominant exteriority

The purpose of legal norms, which is to order life in society, means order external actions, and coordinate people when they come into relationship with each other, that is, when they externalize their actions turning them into external actions. That is why legal norms are predominantly external.

Coercibility

Coercibility is necessary to be able to obtain a peaceful coexistence ordered for the common good. The fulfillment of something that interests everyone cannot be left to the spontaneity of the subjects but, by force, they must submit to this order. Ideally, people will obey the rules by decision and will of their own. But this is not always possible, so it is resorted to impose penalties or warnings if the standards are not met.

Bilateralism creating correlative duties and rights

This is the characteristic of legal norms that most differentiates it from moral and religious norms. Since the purpose of legal norms is coordinate the behaviors of the members of a society according to the common good, it is clear that this coordination cannot be done without a distribution of tasks complementary to each other, the fulfillment of which may be required by others when it is not voluntary.

For people to achieve the common good, they are recognized rights to which the duty of others to respect them corresponds and make them effective. In this way, a variety of duties correspond correlatively to all rights: the duty of all others to respect the right of the individual and perhaps some concrete duties of other specific individuals who are called upon to perform it.

It may interest you:

• Moral standards.
• Social norms.