Functions of Law: Definition & Examples

The house rules can be found on the bulletin board in the school building, the news reports about the punishment of fare dodgers and a note on the General Data Protection Regulation appears when accessing websites.

You encounter legal norms everywhere in everyday life. From simple statutes to ordinances and laws to fundamental rights – legal norms fulfill various functions that are important for social coexistence. It is therefore important for you to know what the functions of the law are.

The four functions of the law

Statutes, ordinances, laws are summarized together with the basic rights under the generic term «legal norm» and fulfill them four basic functions.

In principle, legal norms are intended to ensure social coexistence put in order, Taxes and shape.

In order to ensure peaceful and social coexistence, legal norms have different functions:

  • order function
  • educational function
  • protective function
  • legal certainty

Don’t be confused if you find other subdivisions as well. Some legal scholars see other functions in legal norms:

  • Peace function: Legal norms are intended to ensure social peace through conflict resolution and conflict prevention.
  • Constitutional function: The legal system legitimizes the supreme state organs.
  • Response function: Laws can be a response to current problems.
  • Planning function: Planning and development of meaningful legal norms.

So that you don’t get too confused, only the four most important functions are dealt with below.

order function

One of the most important functions of legal norms is the regulatory function.

After order function human coexistence should be determined and ordered by the legal system.

You can find such a regulatory function, for example, in house rules, school rules or the road traffic regulations.

Imagine if there were no road traffic regulations (StVO) and no road traffic law (StVG). Then there would be neither traffic lights nor street signs or the TÜV seal. So you could, for example, drive wildly through the streets with your self-made soap box. This would lead to complete chaos and numerous accidents.

educational function

In addition to the regulatory function, legal norms also have one educational function.

Laws are used to adhere to certain behaviors negative legal consequences tied. By the Sanction unwanted behavior should be promoted to promote positive behavior within society.

The German legal system contains a large number of laws that mainly have an educational function. In particular, criminal laws, such as bodily harm according to § 223 StGB, represent prohibition or mandatory standards that determine punish behaviors. For example, Section 223 of the Criminal Code states:

Anyone who physically abuses another person or causes damage to their health will be punished with imprisonment for up to five years or a fine.

The following example illustrates the importance of such prohibition norms:

Assuming there was no law criminalizing assault, the following scenario could occur:

Your brother Emil tries to catch the bus after school by running the 600 m to the bus stop. He accidentally bumps into Benno, but immediately apologizes to him. However, Benno does not accept Emil’s apology and is beside himself with anger. He then holds your brother and hits him without fear of consequences.

But legal norms with an educational function can also be found in other laws.

For example, if your parents exceed the maximum speeds specified in § 3 StVO, they usually have to pay a fine.

As you can see, many regulations and laws have an educational function, so socially harmful behavior avoided if possible. The threatened consequences educate people about what behavior is good and what is bad.

protective function

Of course, legal norms are intended to protect both the individual and the protect society as a whole.

Legal norms protect the social peaceby allowing people to act freely within a defined legal framework without suffering arbitrariness or injury.

the protective function is particularly evident in the Children and Youth Protection Act, in the General Data Protection Regulation and in the Environmental Protection Act.

The Youth Protection Act prohibits children and young people from consuming alcohol or drugs. This restricts their freedom, but at the same time protects them from any damage.

If there were no such restrictions, your six-year-old brother, for example, could buy alcohol and thus seriously damage his health.

legal certainty

One of the most fundamental functions of the legal system is to ensure legal certainty.

legal certainty guarantees that people can trust in the consistency, clarity and predictability of laws and thus also in the state.

For example, set deadlines for the statute of limitations or forfeiture clear conditions and thus legal certainty. However, the certainty that socially harmful behavior will be sanctioned also promotes legal certainty.

In practice, this would mean, for example:

The 93-year-old Ursel had some financial difficulties in her youth and therefore borrowed 50 marks from her best friend Elise in 1963. Over the decades, they both forgot about the loan until Elise found Ursel’s promissory note while cleaning up. While drinking coffee every week, Elise asked Ursel about it and is now asking for the 50 marks plus interest, i.e. a total of €900, to be returned.

Ursel then seeks advice from her lawyer as quickly as possible. He explains to her that Elise’s claim has been time-barred since January 1st, 1967 and that she doesn’t need to worry at all.

Functions of the law – fundamental rights

In addition to the four basic functions of the law, fundamental rights also play a role in the German legal system prominent position and fulfill special functions.

Fundamental rights can be found both in constitution as well as in the respective state constitutions. They have constitutional status and guarantee the individual rights of freedom and equality. The state is obliged to comply with fundamental rights, so that fundamental rights are not only inalienable but also enforceable.

Due to the exposed position of fundamental rights in the German legal system, they also have special functions. The function of a fundamental right refers above all to the effect of a fundamental right on the respective protected good, such as life. Fundamental rights contain both subjective legal and objective legal guarantees. Therefore one also speaks of the Dual function of fundamental rights.

What exactly subjective-legal and objective legal guarantees are explained below.

Subjective-legal function of fundamental rights

Seen from a subjective legal point of view, fundamental rights are subjective public rights.

Subjective public rights work specifically in favor of the individual.

As a rule, this can already be seen from the wording, for example in Art. 2 Para. 1 GG:

Everyone has the right to free development of their personality.

The subjective public rights are further subdivided into:

  • freedom rights
  • performance rights
  • equality rights
  • Participation Rights

freedom rights

Many of the basic rights belong to the freedom rights.

freedom rights are there to protect citizens from interference by the state, i.e. public authority.

The freedom rights include, among other things, freedom of opinion (Art. 5 Para. 1 GG), freedom of belief (Art. 4 GG) and freedom of assembly (Art. 8 GG).

In view of the otherwise existing power imbalance in favor of the state and at the expense of the citizen, the rights to freedom thus have a defensive function. This means that the state may only intervene in these fundamental rights under specific conditions laid down in the Basic Law. If he does this without taking these requirements into account, the affected fundamental right to freedom is deemed to have been violated and the affected citizen can sue.

There is also an example for this:

Article 8(1) of the Basic Law gives all Germans the right to assemble peacefully and without weapons without prior notification or permission.

The environmental activist Leo Lobesang wants to hold a demonstration in the pedestrian zone of his hometown in Hesse to draw attention to the impending catastrophic consequences of global warming. His teacher now urgently advises him to report his intentions to the assembly authorities beforehand, otherwise the police could put an end to the demonstration before it had really started. Leo is beside himself, because according to his understanding of Art. 8 GG, his demonstration does not need to be registered as long as everything is peaceful and unarmed.

However, he must observe Art. 8 Para. 2 GG, according to which this fundamental right for open-air assemblies, such as Leo intends, can be restricted by or on the basis of a law. The Basic Law thus contains an authorization for the legislature to regulate a restriction in this case.

This can also be found in Section 14 (1) of the Assembly Act, according to which such an assembly must be registered 48 hours before the start. This restriction of freedom of assembly was therefore within the framework permitted by the Basic Law, so that Leo’s basic right is not violated.

As you can see, civil liberties are omnipresent in everyday life.

performance rights

While the rights to freedom are mainly about the defense against state intervention, performance rights enable the citizen claim against the state to a specific action, for example the granting of a building permit or the granting of state benefits.

However, this applies here reservation of the possibleso that the claim may fail due to financial or other limitations.

Your parents want to build a house in close proximity to your grandparents so that they can better support each other. You apply to the responsible city for a building permit for a residential building.

However, all plots of land that are suitable for this project are designated as purely industrial areas. The city is therefore not allowed to give your parents the building permit, since only commercial establishments are allowed in such areas, no residential buildings.

The performance rights are further broken down into original and derivative performance rights.

Original Performance Rights themselves represent the basis for a citizen’s claim for benefits against the state.

They enable him/her to demand something from the state for which there was otherwise no basis for a claim. The original performance right is e.g. B. Art. 6 para. 4 GG, the right of the mother «to the protection and care of…