Ethics And Morals: Relevance To Lawmaking
We owe ourselves a lot of respect to be able to live together. The oneness of attitude and character is very important in building an egalitarian and just society. This is why I agree with the fact that ethics and morals should be considered when making laws. The truth is that without immoral and unethical behaviours, there would have been no need to promulgate laws in the first place.
Historians have recorded that in the medieval period, new laws emerged from the Tzar, Dukes, Kings, Emperor and anyone who was in charge of controlling the affairs of the state. Laws are improved upon from time to time due to the excesses of humans or citizens. And if we care to know, laws will be made, some will be amended, all for the stability that is needed for a society.
Morals and ethics are prerequisites that govern the behaviour of individuals and society and used as a parameter for law making.
Having settled the relevance of morals and this in law making, we can tell the relevance of ethics and morals in the process of making law.
Justice And Fairness
For laws to promote justice and fairness, they must align with moral values and ethical principles. Every law that is made is usually not used to witch-hunt the citizens but to foster peace, order, fairness and justice, this is why when laws are made, they must be in consonance with the ethics of society. When we study the origin or source of law, you will find out that most laws originate from the ethics of society and the morals that are set by the progenitors.
No laws are supposed to be alien to the people, they must come from.the culture and history of the people.
Respect For Human Rights
For a legal system to thrive and be popularly accepted by the citizens, it must be made to guide and protect fundamental human rights which is usually in consonance with ethics and morals.
In the case of immorality, a law is promulgated to forbid the appearance of evil acts which is always against the ethics of society.
When laws are made without first considering ethics and morals, such laws could become chaotic in nature because it would negate human needs and desires.
Effectiveness and Acceptability
When ethical considerations are taken before laws are made, it helps the lawmakers to anticipate and address potential conflicts and unintended consequences of the laws that have been made.
Laws are widely effective and accepted by the people when such laws meet up with societal demands of ethics and morals. Anything different may be absolutely rejected. Since laws are made in the best interest of the society, then we can proudly say that ethics and morals are a complete requisite that should be considered I'm.the lawmaking process.
The Concept of Law Importation
I used to laugh loud at some rudimental bias laws that have been held high in some parlance.
For example, the laws of eating and not talking. I used to ask who made those laws and why? Such laws do not fit into the life of an average Nigerian family. We know well that the law of eating and not talking is not outrightly bad though, but for an average Nigerian home, the dining table is where a lot of discussions are held and settled.
This concept of law Importation could be the reason why some of those laws are not widely accepted by Nigerian people. This is more so because the society is different from the European society where this law was originally enacted. The culture, ethics and morals of the people should be considered.
Dear friends and readers, the laws that guide our thoughts and behaviours can be broken, the offence against the laws attracts punishment. When an offender breaks the laws, the guilt he feels is a pointer to the truth that the law considers ethics and morals for it to be created.
