MEDIA LAW AND ETHICS STUDY NOTES CHAPTER ONE

Transcription

1 MEDIA LAW AND ETHICS STUDY NOTES CHAPTER ONE OBJECTIVES At the end of this unit, you should be able to: understand the differences between natural and man-made laws understand the divisions of man-made laws discuss the general functions of law in the society. Natural and Man-Made Laws Laws are the set of rules established by nature or by human authorities, to regulate natural phenomena or human behaviour within a given community or country. From this general definition, it can be seen that laws fall under two broad categories, that is, those which govern natural phenomena and those which govern human activities. Natural Laws are the laws of nature, such as the laws of the natural sciences. An example of natural law is that which governs the floatation of objects. Those who studied physics in secondary school can still remember Archimedes principles, which states that if a body is immersed in water, the up-thrust is equal to the volume of liquid displaced. Based on this natural law, scientists design sea-going vessels. Other natural laws include the Laws of Relativity discovered by Albert Einstein, and the Law of Gravitation, discovered by Isaac Newton. Even the laws of Supply and Demand and Diminishing Returns are natural laws. Also, the fact that the earth revolves and at the same time rotates on its axis is a law which was imposed by nature itself. But we are concerned in this study with man-made laws. Man-made laws are those imposed by human authorities for the regulation of human activities. Such laws include the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR), various International Conventions, National Constitutions, Statutes, Codes, Decrees and Edicts imposed by governments at different levels and for specific purposes. The following are generally true of man-made laws: They are imposed by the ruling class of every time and space to regulate the behaviour of people under them. Man-made laws are enforced by the rulers as vigorously as they have the political will to enforce them. Hence some laws may exist in the Statute but are hardly ever enforced. Every law has an effective date Laws can be repealed or amended to suit the desires (policies and objectives) of the ruling class. Man-made laws derive from the values and practices of a given society. Man-made laws respect natural laws and justice. 1

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3 Man-made Laws Contrasted with Natural Laws: In contrast to man-made laws, natural laws have no effective date, nor are they respecters of culture or the ruling class of any time and space. In short, natural laws are immutable and constant, while Man-made laws can change with time. EXERCISE 1 Identify 10 natural and 10 man-made laws in the town or village where you grew up. Divisions of Man-made Laws The Law of the land can be grouped into two broad divisions, namely, civil law and criminal law. Civil law seeks to protect civil or private rights while criminal law defines criminal offences and specifies punishments for their breaches. While the violation of civil law is an offence against an individual, the breaking of criminal law is considered as an offence against the state. Some crimes are against humanity, such as genocide, slavery, child prostitution and other such heinous offences. The following fall under Civil Law: Law of contract, company law, commercial law, family law, insurance law etc. Examples of criminal offences are: robbery, rape, murder, kidnapping, arson, obtaining goods or money under false pretences, defamation, sedition, etc. EXERCISE 2 With the aid of the Criminal and Penal codes, make a complete listing of the laws against the state. The Purpose of Law in the Society Ewelukwa (2004:1) identifies five important contributions of law to the society as follows: Regulation of human conduct Reconciliation of the interest of the individual to that of the community Pointing out when interests exist Man owes his dignity to law Law initiates changes in economic, political, social and religious structures. Regulation of Human Conduct Law exists as a social control of customs and morality to ensure that citizens conduct themselves in an orderly manner. In an ideal society where citizens conduct themselves in a perfectly orderly manner, guided by their morality, religion and conscience, there would have been no need for law.

4 But such a perfect society does not exist. Once in a while some people may choose to fight, steal or rob. It is to point out the acceptable way to conduct social life that laws are made so that there can be peace and order in the society. Reconciliation of the interest of the individual to that of the Community Some people s interest may be at variance with those of the community. But Ewelukwa (Ibid:2) points out that the interest of the individual must be balanced with the welfare of the community, for the good of all and the public good in particular, hence there are laws. Pointing out when interest exists In a world of interdependence and interpersonal influence interests are bound to exist and evaluated. The court of law examines cases brought before it and identifies and protects the interest of parties whose interests have been violated. Man owes his dignity to law The rule of law, not the rule of man, controls every civilized society The basic assumption of the rule of law is that the law is supreme, that all men are subject to the law of the land and that the inalienable right of citizens are guaranteed by the constitution. It is the rule of law which recognizes the civil and political rights of the citizen. Change in economic, political, social and religious structures are initiated by law Every society moves with the changing times. As the social, economic, and political orders change, society restructures itself to ensure progress and continuity. These changes are initiated by laws. In Nigeria, for example, many obnoxious laws which existed during the colonial and military eras have now been repealed or amended. In their places have been enacted better laws which better protect the rights of the individual and allow him more leverage to improve himself and the society at large. EXERCISE 3 Identify five bad laws promulgated by the military governments which have now been replaced by more humane laws or repealed altogether. SUMMARY In this unit we have considered the meaning and purpose of law in all societies. It was explained that laws are the general rules that govern natural phenomena and human beings anywhere they may be on earth. Laws are divided into two, namely, natural and human laws. Natural laws govern natural phenomena while human laws are those imposed on the society by the rulers.

5 We also drew a contrast between natural laws and human laws. Natural laws are ordained by God (or nature, for those who do not believe in God), and are immutable. On the other hand, human laws differ from place to place and from time to time. Finally, the general purposes of law in the society were discussed. They are: regulation of human conduct; reconciliation of the interest of the individual to that of the community; pointing out when interests exist; the fact that man owes his dignity to law; and the fact that law initiates changes in economics, political, social and religious structures. ASSIGNMENT Discuss the essence and purpose of law and why there is so much deviant behaviour in modern societies. This is a SAMPLE (Few pages have been extracted from the complete notes:-it s meant to show you the topics covered in the full notes and as per the course outline Download more at our websites: To get the complete notes either in softcopy form or in Hardcopy (printed & Binded) form, contact us on: Call/text/whatsApp / naarocom@gmail.com info@naarocom.com sales@naarocom.com

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