Laws and Legal Systems Overview

Study Notes

Laws do not apply retroactively.
The first step in resolving legal conflicts is determining which criteria apply.
Hierarchical criteria take precedence if a hierarchical relationship exists between conflicting rules.
Chronological criteria are used if there is no hierarchical relationship.
Competence criteria are used when legislative function is horizontally distributed, such as in federal or regional legal systems.

The US Constitution establishes a federal system.
Federal legislative powers are enumerated in Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution, including the authority to tax, regulate commerce, coin money, and establish rules on naturalization.
State legislative powers apply to matters not explicitly enumerated as federal powers.

Customary law emerges from consistent patterns of behavior within a community.
It reflects a collective understanding rather than an explicit act of will.
In Italy, customary law is recognized as a source of law, referred to as "Usi" (usages).

Legal systems are categorized as either Civil Law or Common Law.
Civil law originates from continental Europe and is rooted in Roman law.
Rules in Civil Law systems are derived from formal legislative functions, with judges interpreting statutes using a syllogistic approach.
Common Law emerged from the English legal experience, with legal rules primarily originating from judicial decisions.
The principle of "binding precedent" applies in Common Law systems, wherein past decisions serve as a rule for future cases.

Western legal systems share a common historical foundation.
The modern state has evolved, particularly in relation to human rights.
Positive law asserts that law is created by authorities, while natural law suggests inherent human rights.

The 15th to 17th centuries saw the emergence of new political and legal institutions.
This period led to the divergence of Roman law into distinct paths, resulting in Common Law and Civil Law.
Jus Publicum Europaeum emerged to regulate state interactions based on shared principles.
A cohesive Western society began to take shape.
Modern and contemporary constitutions arose from interactions between legal and political institutions.

A comparative and historical approach is essential for understanding constitutional law and how national legal systems evolved from Western constitutionalism.