Role of Functions of Law

Role and Functions of Law

Angelica Cruz

Law/421

February 25, 2014

Sarah Williams

Role and Functions of Law

“The United States uses a federal System in which a national government coexists with the government of each state. A very important concept is that the federal government has only limited powers to regulate individuals and businesses.” (Melvin, Chapter 2, 2011)

The U.S. Constitution was created for the purpose of laws, and to defend the people from wrongful doings of the government. The constitution is composed of 27 amendments, the preamble and 7 articles. The first three articles are the Legislative Branch, Executive Branch, and the Judicial Branch, and this structure is so that they will not overpower each other.

In the operation of business and society, Law plays a very important role. Some of the functions of law is to keep the peace, to check government power and also supports personal freedom. The law provides ethical standards and expectation, while it provides rules of conduct and enforces the rules. Laws protect the environment, for example; According to Environmental Laws and Treaties (n.d.), “The Safe Drinking Water Act (1974) Establishes drinking water standards for tap water safety, and requires rules for groundwater protection from underground injection; amended in 1986 and 1996. The 1996 amendments added a fund to pay for water system upgrades, revised standard: setting requirements required new standards for common contaminants, and include public “right to know” requirements to inform consumers about their tap water.” Pollution is constantly threatening the quality of what water remains, therefore it is important to ensure that there is sufficient and safe water to drink.

As I was doing a further research on laws I learned that several different types of laws exist, such as statutes, ordinances, common law and constitutions. A statute is a law that is enacted by the elected representatives of the legislative branch....