We explain what legality is and what legality is like in governments. Also, the types of legality that exist.
What is legality?
The principle of legality, or also known as primacy of law, is defined as the prevalence of the law over any other activity or action possessed by public power.
That is, everything that emanates from a State must be governed by law and not by the will of the people who live in that society. Therefore, legality is everything that is done within the framework of the written law.
It is for this reason that all the people who make up a society must respect it for a better coexistence. In turnno ruler can oppose what is established in the Constitution of each country where all the essential regulations of each State are found; All measures taken while in office must be subject to the law.
See also: Public law
Legality in governments
In countries that have a government of democracy, The principle of legality is protected through division of powers The function that this legal system has is that the power that is responsible for interpreting the laws should not be the same as the one that proposes or executes them.
In most states, Criminal law is based on the principle of legality That is, a crime will only be classified in this way as long as the law expressly indicates it.
The main objective is to prevent a person from being accused – and then convicted – of committing a crime arbitrarily and without any basis that comes from established laws.
Types of legality
In turn, legality can be classified in different ways according to its specific characteristics:
- Principle of administrative legality Based on the principle of legality, the public administration is not authorized to act on its own; it must always execute the content of the law. The law can be considered as an external limit to administrative activity; within this context, administration is free. In this way, the State can only be governed by what the law allows and orders; In conclusion, nothing can be left to free will.
- Principle of tax legality With regard to Tax Law, only through a legal norm can each and every one of the elements that form part of the tax obligation be defined. Some examples of these obligations may be the taxable event, the subjects who are obligated to pay, the system for determining taxable events, the due date of a payment and any infraction, penalty or exemption. It is said that for a tax to be considered as such, it must only be governed by a law.
- Principle of legality in Criminal Law It is established that for conduct to be classified as a crime it must have been described in that way prior to the event under discussion. Likewise, the punishment that will be imposed must be previously established by law. It can be said then that criminal legality is a limit directed at the punitive power of a State: only those behaviors that are expressly described as crimes can be punished.
Finally, it is always good to clarify that in order to live in a society where the law is complied with, not only must the rules be established but people must also commit to complying with these rules. Each individual will have the social responsibility of ensuring compliance with the law in different areas.
