Legal Norms: Validity, Applicability, and Effectiveness
Loss of Validity
Legal norms lose validity when:
- They are repealed.
- They have a time limit.
- A provision replaces the rule with different content.
Retroactive and Irretroactive Standards
Irretroactive Standard: Does not apply to past events; has no effect backwards.
Retroactive Standard: Applies to past events. New regulations can have an effect backwards, as determined by the legislature. Art. 9.3 EC 1 states that unfavorable regulations should not be retroactive. Art. 2.2 CP 2 states that criminal laws favoring the prisoner must be retroactive.
Types of Abrogation
Express Abrogation: Explicitly states that a rule is repealed.
Tacit Abrogation: Not expressly stated; inferred through interpretation, which can lead to inconsistencies.
Validity Criteria
Dynamic Criteria: A rule is valid if its creation is authorized.
Static Criteria: A rule is not valid if its content contradicts a higher norm.
Applicability of Law
A rule is applicable when events match the facts described in the rule. A special case arises when a rule can only be applied if another rule also applies.
Types of Democracy
Direct Democracy: People directly vote on issues.
Representative Democracy: People vote for representatives to make decisions on their behalf.
Efficacy and Effectiveness
Efficacy: The capacity of a rule to function as a standard for determining a causal phenomenon; the degree to which a rule achieves its objective.
Effectiveness: Producing the expected effects of the rules within legal institutions. A standard is effective if state institutions, organs, and judges consider it.
Conditions of Validity
Formal Conditions: Relate to who created the act, how it was created, and its regulatory purpose.
- Formal Competence: Created by the competent body (authority to create rules).
- Procedures: Requires adherence to prescribed procedures for rule creation.
Material Conditions: Refer to the content of the regulation, including prohibitions, permissions, and commands, and the scope of regulation. A lower standard cannot contradict a higher standard. Contradiction creates a vice (invalidity).
Effects of Legal Norms
Personal Effect: Applies to the intended subjects of the rule.
Temporary Effect: Determines the duration and cessation of prescriptive or binding claims.
- Entry into Force: Occurs after adoption by Parliament (Article 91 EC).
- Publication: Takes effect 20 days after complete publication in the Official Gazette.
- Vacatio Legis: Period between publication and application of the law.