Public law

Public law is the branch of law whose main purpose is to regulate and supervise the different links established between individuals and private institutions that are related to public power, as long as these sectors are protected by public powers of a legitimate nature and following the statutes of the law. It is a group of norms whose function is to regulate all those activities carried out by the State with respect to its sovereign functions and their relations with the inhabitants. In it, it is the State that has privilege over other persons or institutions.

Related topics

Administrative law, agricultural law, constitutional right, criminal procedural law, labor law, natural law, positive law, roman law

What is public law?

Public law is the legal order that allows to have adequate relations of subordination, cooperation and ordering between the State and the people who inhabit a determined place by regulating the exercise of the sovereign functions of public power.

About public law

Public law consists of drawing up a set of general conditions based on freedom and security, which allows the inhabitants or groups of a society to acquire a particular set of interests through the State. It regulates the correct exercise of the powers that make up the State, always seeking different collective or common interests.

Characteristics

Its main characteristics are the following:

• It is one of the most specific branches of law because it focuses on relationships between specific groups and individuals within a society.
• It deals with issues that may affect a person within the public sphere.
• It involves links between a person and a state entity.
• Heteronomy and obligatory norms
• It is in opposition to private law.

Legal nature

Public law and its legal nature can be defined as a set of rules that regulate legally the organization and proper functioning of the state, as well as the relations between citizens and state. It is the legal norms of the state’ s own organization and all its functions.

Backgrounds

The law began in Rome, and was based on the phrase “Publicum ius est quod ad statum rei romanae spectat“, which means that public law is the one that deals with Roman government, and was divided into three different types:

• Sacred: it was the cult that the habitants gave to the gods, to their rites and sacrifices.
• Priests: it referred to their organization, functions and prerogatives.
• Magistrate: it regulated the number, nature and attributions; the competence and the organization of people’ s assemblies and senate.

Public law basically referred to government, organization and State functions, and relations with individuals and other States. The rules that formed part of this right could not be modified by agreement between individuals. The organs belonging to the state were in charge to express people’ will, at that time, Roman people.

History

Public law originated in Rome and its development has been classified into different periods ranging from the founding of Roman Empire to the establishment of Justinian Empire. In each of these periods, we can find particular characteristics that distinguish them. There were four phases in public law history:

• Archaic Roman Law: It goes from the foundation of Rome until the promulgation of the laws of the XII Tables.
• Pre classical Roman Law: From the promulgation of the Laws of the XII Tables until the end of the Republic.
• Classical Roman Law: From the end of the Republic to the empire of Alexander Severus.
• Post-classical Roman Law: From Alexander Severus to Justinianus.
• Justinian Roman Law: The duration of Justinian’s Empire.

Branches

The branches of public law are:

• Constitutional Law
• Civil Procedural Law
• Criminal Procedural Law
• Administrative Law
• Tax Law
• Registry and Notary Law
• Public International Law
• Ecclesiastical Law

Sources or principles of public law

These sources depend on each State, however, there are sources that are applicable everywhere to maintain the legal order and these are:

• Legality principle
• Separation of functions
• Limiting principles of criminal law
• Due process
• Ignorant iuris non excusat

Aims

Its purpose is to maintain order and regulate the different links between individuals and the State, by regulating the relationships of subordination and ordering that occur between the States and individuals in a society.

Importance of public law

Public law is important because of the unequal relationship between the government and people. The government is the only body that can make decisions about people’s rights and people must act within the law. Thanks to public law, a person can apply for judicial review if he or she is not satisfied with the decision of an authorized body. It is important because it defends people when there are unbalanced relationships between the individual and the state, or the bodies that represent it.

Examples

Some examples that observed daily in our society involving public law are:

• The Financial or Tax Law that regulates the different taxes, their requirements, application and sanctions.
• Municipal Law or Public Bodies, which deals with the autonomy, organization and finances of a given municipality.
• Labor Law, whose objective is the worker, his rights and duties, labor contracts, their conditions, validity, collective agreements, labor sanctions, vacations, etc.
• Public International Law, which aims to regulate the actions of states and other international entities.