Understanding Sources of Law, Legislative Process, and Legal Acts

Posted on Apr 3, 2025 in Law & Jurisprudence

Sources of Law: An Introduction

Sources of law are the origins from which legal rights arise, essentially the means by which rules of law are established. These sources can be categorized as follows:

Historical Sources

Historical sources include documents that provide background for the establishment of a rule of law, such as the sentiments of a nation.

Material Sources

Material sources encompass all societal phenomena that influence the content of legal norms.

Formal Sources

Formal sources refer to the process of creating a rule of law. These include:

  • The Law: A rule of law issued, promulgated, and sanctioned by the government.
  • Case Law: The interpretation of the law by courts.
  • Custom: Acts repeated over time, serving as a means to resolve matters within the realm of law.
  • Doctrine and General Principles of Law: Logical rules or principles deduced from the entire legal system.

The Legislative Process

The legislative process involves the various steps followed to create new legislation or amend existing rules. These stages include:

  1. Draft Law Initiative: A proposal presented to the legislature to create a law. According to Article 71, the President, Congressmen, Senators, and state legislatures have the right to initiate laws or decrees.
  2. Discussion: The chambers of the legislature discuss the proposed law. The first chamber to review the initiative is called the chamber of origin, and the second is the reviewing chamber.
  3. Approval: After review by each chamber, the bill is approved and sent to the President.
  4. Enactment: The President reviews the proposed law to determine whether to approve it.
  5. Publication: Once enacted, the President orders its publication in the Official Journal of the Nation.
  6. Start of Validity: After publication, the law takes effect and becomes mandatory.

Legal Acts and Their Effects

Legal acts and events have consequences or effects on legal rights, including creating, modifying, transferring, and extinguishing legal rights and obligations.

Legal Events

Legal events are not voluntary but occur and bring legal consequences, such as death.

Legal Acts

Legal acts are voluntary and involve a manifestation of will, such as marriage.

Classification of Legal Acts

  • Unilateral Acts: One party undertakes an obligation to another.
  • Bilateral Acts: Parties mutually undertake obligations, such as in a buy-sell agreement.
  • Onerous Acts: Reciprocal charges or obligations exist.
  • Gratuitous Acts: Only one party receives a benefit, such as in a donation.
  • Inter Vivos Effects: Actions that impact life, such as marriage.
  • Mortis Causa Effects: Actions that take place after death, such as will requirements.

Requirements of Legal Acts

The requirements for valid legal acts include:

  • Will: The individual’s will is the decisive factor, requiring consent from one or more parties.
  • Subject, Reason, or Purpose: This may involve material or heritage, a fact, or an abstention.
  • Solemnities: Some legal acts require specific sacramental forms, such as registration.

Conditions of Validity

The conditions for the validity of legal acts include:

  • The will must be expressed freely.
  • Parties must have the capacity to enter into the act.
  • The act must be concluded with legal formalities.

Absence of Defects of Will

If the will is not expressed freely, it is considered flawed. Common defects include:

  • Error: A false view of a fact or thing.
  • Violence: Use of constraint (physical or moral) to obtain consent.
  • Fraud (Dolo): Suggestion used to mislead.
  • Lesion: An imbalance where one party has more rights than obligations, or vice versa.

Capacity of Parties

  • Capacity of Enjoyment: The ability to have rights and duties.
  • Capacity to Exercise: The ability to exercise these rights independently.

Formalities

The act must be expressed in a certain way, either written or published.

Inexistence and Invalidity of Legal Acts

  • Inexistence of Legal Acts: Occurs if any of the conditions of existence are missing.
  • Invalidity of Acts: Results from an unlawful purpose or order. An act can be canceled if it has defects of will, incapacity of parties, or lacks required formalities.