We explain what the current law is, its characteristics and examples. Furthermore, its relationship with positive law.
What is the current law?
In legal sciences and law, we speak of current law to refer to some rule, law, doctrine or provision that is in force, that is, whose compliance is mandatory in a specific territory and time.
In other words, the current law It is the current set of rules and laws, valid and valid at least until they are repealed by the corresponding institution (usually the legislative branch) and/or replaced by new rules and laws.
Current law is exactly the opposite of expired or repealed law, and is often considered part of the so-called positive law, since it is the most current version of the formal laws of a State. But we will delve into this difference later.
In any case, the validity of the right It depends on whether the rules proposed are of current and mandatory application or if it is rather a past jurisprudence, of historical value and non-obligatory compliance (not current).
For example, in the United States in the mid-20th century, the law established a strict separation between its white citizens and its citizens of African descent, granting the former a very notable series of privileges. That law has long been left behind and has been rightly repealed, so it is no longer in force and therefore its regulations are no longer valid, that is, it no longer has to be obeyed.
Characteristics of current law
The current law is characterized as follows:
- The current law It is imposed by the State and legal bodies whether its origin lies in customary matters (that is, in the custom of the people) or whether it has been formally legislated by the government. In any case, the forces of the State force its compliance.
- Like all laws, the current law is valid in a specific territory and under a specific jurisdiction, but in your case depends greatly on the time factor since laws tend to change as society changes too. That does not mean that a very old law cannot continue to be in force today, of course.
- The current law It stops being so when new laws appear and regulations to replace the previous ones or when State agencies decide to repeal them.
Examples of current law
Any of the ordinances, rules and laws that are currently in force In our country they serve as an example of current law.
On the other hand, the laws and provisions in the national Constitution prior to the current one will have lost their validity, that is, they no longer apply, they are no longer valid. This happened, for example, in Venezuela in 1999, when the Magna Carta in force until then was repealed and a new one (in force from then on) was popularly approved.
That same Constitution was later modified in 2009 to amend a series of articles, and in this way the old text of said articles lost its validity, and was replaced by a new current text. Therefore, in this case, only the most recent and established texts belong to current law.
Initiation of validity
Normally, the validity of a law begins after it has been approved by the competent bodies and published so that its content is publicly known, which can happen in two different ways:
- Successive entry when the law comes into force on the day of its publication in the official gazette or newspaper in charge of transmitting legislative decisions to the citizens. From that moment on, it is considered public knowledge and becomes valid.
- Synchronous input when the law itself sets the moment of its entry into force, as long as the law has been published previously (so that people can know).
Positive law and current law
We must not confuse current law with positive law. We understand positive law as the compilation of all the laws that have been enacted by any State sovereign and are written in decrees, agreements, regulations, constitutions, etc.
In this it differs, for example, from natural law (which is born with people) and customary law (which is established by the custom of people).
Now, positive law can be valid when it comes to current regulations and in value, or it may be historical legal texts, whose obedience is no longer required by the State. However, not all current law is positive since customary or natural law, if it is still valid, will also become part of the current laws.
In summary: positive law is the law that has written origin, whether in force or not; while the current right is the current and valid right, regardless of its origin.
References
- “Positive law” in Wikipedia.
- “Positive law and current law” (video) in Legal Capsules.
- “Current law” in the Single Regulatory Information System of the Ministry of Justice of Colombia.
- “Positive and current law” by María del Carmen Ramos at the Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo (Mexico).
