All Laws Are Rules but All Rules Are Not Law
“All laws are rules but all rules are not laws”
The fact that all laws are rules but all rules are not laws can be wholly feasible. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a “law” is outlined as an enforceable body of official rules and regulations, established by people in authority who use them to govern the affairs of people in a society whereas a “rule” is a special category of law written by state agencies to support, clarify, or implement specific laws enacted by the legislature called statutes.
The main distinction that can be drawn between a rule and law is that a rule is enforceable while a law is unenforceable. An excellent example of an unenforceable rule is the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. It was designed to keep people from drinking alcohol beverages but this didn’t mean that all the people would adhere to it so this rule was obviously termed as an unenforceable rule. Rules such as – “No one should indulge in sexual activity before marriage”, “Married women and men should not commit adultery”, “Everyone should love his or her neigbour” and a few others are identified to be unenforceable rules. Contrary to the unenforceable rules, there are also examples of rules which can be enforceable .Some of these will include rules such as: “No one should steal”, “No one should kill another human being”.
In conclusion, emphasis can be placed on the term “law” as being an enforceable body of rules and if persons do not adhere to it then severe penalties are put into place. On the other hand, “rules” are said to be guiding conducts which are said to be unenforceable and when broken there are sanctions that would complement it but not as severe as when an enforceable law is broken. Rules are usually said to be normative. This means that rules set a standard of how things ought to be, rather than how they are.
“Laws are necessary for the peace, stability, order and good governance of the civil society”
Is law a necessary “evil”? Absolutely
The fact that all laws are rules but all rules are not laws can be wholly feasible. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a “law” is outlined as an enforceable body of official rules and regulations, established by people in authority who use them to govern the affairs of people in a society whereas a “rule” is a special category of law written by state agencies to support, clarify, or implement specific laws enacted by the legislature called statutes.
The main distinction that can be drawn between a rule and law is that a rule is enforceable while a law is unenforceable. An excellent example of an unenforceable rule is the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. It was designed to keep people from drinking alcohol beverages but this didn’t mean that all the people would adhere to it so this rule was obviously termed as an unenforceable rule. Rules such as – “No one should indulge in sexual activity before marriage”, “Married women and men should not commit adultery”, “Everyone should love his or her neigbour” and a few others are identified to be unenforceable rules. Contrary to the unenforceable rules, there are also examples of rules which can be enforceable .Some of these will include rules such as: “No one should steal”, “No one should kill another human being”.
In conclusion, emphasis can be placed on the term “law” as being an enforceable body of rules and if persons do not adhere to it then severe penalties are put into place. On the other hand, “rules” are said to be guiding conducts which are said to be unenforceable and when broken there are sanctions that would complement it but not as severe as when an enforceable law is broken. Rules are usually said to be normative. This means that rules set a standard of how things ought to be, rather than how they are.
“Laws are necessary for the peace, stability, order and good governance of the civil society”
Is law a necessary “evil”? Absolutely