Law is a procedure established by custom within the society or a rule to guide human conduct within the society. The presence of law creates obligations for different persons in ensuring that they conform to the laid down procedures and regulations. Law permeates every sphere of the society and remains a critical enforcement mechanism of regulations in the society. Failure to abide by the law exposes the defaulter to legal sanctions as enforced by the authority through the courts. It has also been argued that the law enforces ethics. Law acts to serve numerous roles and functions and this paper shall examine the key roles and functions.
The most visible roles of the law are manifested in the three main classifications of law. There are several branches of substantive law in the society. The most common to people is criminal law which is concerned with the punishment of criminals found guilty of violating the law. Criminal law encompasses the law through which crimes are prosecuted by relevant bodies. It is the case that law serves to enforce ethics and at times, morality. It is instructive to note that ethics and morality are not conterminous; law plays the function of enforcing ethics in business through regulations. Usually, the law creates institutions to guide and supervise the functioning of business and at large, define operation in the wider society. For instance, the law has created the Federal Reserve to regulate the functions of the banking industry where the Federal Reserve acts as the regulatory body that ensures that commercial banks play by the laid down rules. This serves the purpose of preventing the consumers or the citizens from exploitation through exorbitant and arbitrary interest rates by the banks. More so, the banking industry regulator plays the essential role of licensing and authorizing the operation of commercial banks to ensure that such institutions have the capacity to deliver. Cases of fraud are investigated by the regulator and dealt with in accordance with the law. It may, therefore, be said that the law plays the critical role of regulating business and preventing the exploitation of people. As earlier stated, criminal laws defines various crimes and the punishment for each of the crimes. Those who failure to adhere to the rules and or those found in breach of the law are prosecuted and punished in accordance with criminal laws. It may, therefore, be said that law plays a key role of deterring the commission of cries by would-be criminals.
With regard to enforcement of ethics and morality, the law plays the role of a watchdog to avert the perpetration of corruption. With the complex nature of business characterizing the world today alongside evolving technology, a number of individuals involved in business tend to give bribes so as to gain advantages in procurement or get better service delivery in an expeditious manner. This has the effect of militating against the interests of other people involved in business and who act in accordance with the law. Corruption has been a major way in which money has been pilfered not only in the public sector but also in the private sector. The effect of corruption is that the cost of doing business increases, thereby limiting the level of investment that takes place in a nation. This is because, an investor will have to expend with a lot of money in a bid to gain a foothold in the industry through corruption and in a quest to cut on bureaucracy. As such, the law works to promote stability in the business industry and enhance investment in the society.
The other bigger role played by the law especially in business is with respect to the other key branch of the law namely civil law. Civil law is the branch of the law that concerns itself with private wrongs whereby a private individual may file a lawsuit against another private individual for an alleged wrongdoing. Usually, in this branch of law, the penalties meted out on the party found in the wrong are damages or other remedies such as specific performance, injunction or rescission, among others. In this area of law, a private individual found guilty of a wrong against another is not punished by way of imprisonment or the payment of fines as in criminal law. The amount of damages paid as compensation for the wrongdoing is paid to the private individual whose rights have been infringed. Private rights such as rights arising under contract law, torts or other wrongs perpetrated by public bodies are remedied through the courts under the realm of civil law. As a consequence, most of the disputes that arise with regards to civil rights in business are resolved in the commercial courts through the application of civil law.
Whatever the branch of the law there may be, it is the case that law at most times serves to protect the interests of the masses. Some of the most important functions of the law in society include peacekeeping, the checking of governmental power, promotion of social justice and the protection of the environment. Other functions include the promotion of economic growth of a country by enabling free competition and creating a stable business environment. These key functions performed by law protect the interests of businesses and individuals.
References
Bushman, M. (2007). The Role and Functions of Law in Business and Society. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/139783/the_role_and_functions_of_law_in_business.html. New York: Cengage Learning.
Melvin, S. (2011). The Legal Environment of Business: A Managerial Approach: Theory and Practice, 1e. New York: Mc-Graw Hill.
Shihata, I. F. (2006). The Role of Law in Business Development. Fordham International Law Journal, 12-21.
