We explain what private law is, what its branches are and how it differs from public law.
What is private law?
Private law is a branch of positive law, that is, that which is included in laws and legal texts, which is dedicated to regulate the activities and relationships between citizens individuals to guarantee legal equality between them.
Private law deals with contracts, transactions and operations that do not involve the public sector, but rather they are concluded between two or more legal or natural persons. For example: lease contracts, purchase and sale operations or labor lawsuits.
It is possible, however, for private law to govern the State, as long as it acts as an individual and not on behalf of the entire nation. In this it is distinguished from public law.
In this sense, private law establishes two fundamental precepts, which are:
- The autonomy of the will. This principle establishes that interactions between people, in the pursuit of their own interests, must always be carried out of their own free will, without coercion, deception or violence. Only in this way can they have legal validity, as long as they do not contradict what is established in any legal system.
- Equality before the law. This principle establishes that in private acts all legal subjects are subject to the same legal framework and the rule of law, that is, that no one escapes what is established in the laws or can impose their will above the rules of the game. .
See also: Law
Branches of private law
Private law includes different branches or categories:
- civil law. Also called “common law”, it regulates legal relationships and transactions between people, as well as what is related to their rights, freedoms, assets or transfer of property.
- Commercial law. It regulates commercial transactions between private parties and the exchanges of goods and services for money.
- Labor law. Regulates and orders contractual relations between employers and employees.
- Rural law. It regulates the affairs of life in the countryside and agricultural production.
- Private international law. It regulates commercial transactions and exchanges that occur between States and individuals of other nations, or between two States acting as if they were individuals.
Differences between public and private law
The differences between public law and private law can be summarized as follows:
| Private law | Public law |
|---|---|
| It is responsible for regulating agreements and operations between individuals. | It is responsible for regulating the exercise of political power, the management of the public sector and the relations of the State with other States. |
| It manages coordination rules, that is, mediation between the interests and wishes of third parties to guarantee the justice of the agreements. | It manages rules of submission to public order, that is, the imposition of the law to guarantee social peace. |
| He deals with labor, contractual, commercial, civil and international trade matters between private parties. | It deals with constitutional, criminal, administrative, financial matters and relations between States. |
| It includes other forms of law such as: civil law, commercial law, corporate law and private international law. | It includes other forms of law such as: administrative law, criminal law, financial law, constitutional law and public international law. |
Although both are forms of positive law, private law is distinguished from public law in a fundamental point: the presence or absence of the State in the legal relations that each one regulates. In simple terms, Private law deals with what concerns the private sector and public law with what concerns the public sector.
This means that if the legal actions have to do with the management of public administration or with the exercise of the functions of the State (as a regulatory entity of society), they will be in the field of public law.
On the other hand, if the legal actions have to do with agreements, contracts, operations and transactions carried out between two or more individuals, even if one of them is the State (but acting as an individual and not on behalf of national interests) , it will be in the field of private law.
For example: if a worker and a company sign an employment contract, private law will ensure that the terms of said contract are not contrary to the law. On the other hand, if that company evades its taxes and breaks the law, it will be judged by the State through public law bodies.
From there it follows that the standards promulgated by public law are norms of subordination that is, submission to public order and the law. The State is the guarantor of the social pact and is the one who must ensure compliance with what is established in the National Constitution, even with regard to monitoring and regulating itself.
Instead, the norms of private law are norms of coordination which serve to agree or regulate negotiations between two independent and equal parties before the law, and thus guarantee that neither takes improper actions against the other.
Continue with:
document.addEventListener(“DOMContentLoaded”, (e) => {
var sliderContainer, slider;
sliderContainer = document.getElementById(‘block_1a13142208453d3714aca2ccc87df32c’);
if (typeof initSlider !== ‘function’) {
console.log(‘Swiper haven\’t been loaded’);
sliderContainer.className += ‘ fw scroll-snap’;
return;
};
options = {
direction: ‘horizontal’,
speed: 1000,
slidesPerView: ‘auto’,
// slidesPerGroup: 1,
centerInsufficientSlides: true,
// centeredSlides:true,
spaceBetween: 15,
breakpoints: {
720: {
// centeredSlides: false,
// slidesPerGroup: 2,
spaceBetween: 25
},
},
pagination: {
el: ‘.swiper-pagination’,
type: ‘bullets’,
clickable: true
},
}
slider = initSlider(sliderContainer, options);
})
References
- Bullinger, M. (2023). Public law and private law. Translated Antonio Esteban Drake. Canopus Digital Editorial.
- Fernández de Buján, A. (2011). Private Roman law. Right Portal (Iustel).
- Quintana Adriano, E. (2006). “Public law and private law.” Legal studies in tribute to Marta Morineau (YO). National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
