Legal norms

1. Legal norms

2. Legal norms - definition • Legal norms are generally binding rules of conduct issued by the state authority • Legal norms are intended for the regulation of social relations • Legal norms determine the rights and duties of the subjects of legal relations • Abidance of legal norms is guaranteed by the state coercion

3. Basic aspects of legal norms • They are issued by competent state authority • They are properly published (Collection of laws) • Normativity – they regulate peoples conduct • Generality – they are binding for the indefinite number of people and indefinite number of cases • They are enforceable by the power of the state

4. Types of legal norms I. • Injunctive legal norms – they determine duties of the legal subjects • Prohibitive legal norms – they determine prohibitions • Entitling legal norms – they determine entitlements of the legal subjects

5. Types of legal norms II. • peremptory (mandatory) legal norms – they are formulated as imperatives, legal subjects can not behave in a different way • provisional (non-mandatory) legal norms – they contain two rules – first enables legal subjects to arrange their rights and duties, second will be used if they do not arrange

6. Special legal norms • Declaratory legal norms – they express ideological, political or ethical principles • Legal definitions – they define some notions used in the process of realization of law • Derogatory norms – they contain repeal of a normative act or its part • Conflict norms – they contain criteria for the choice between the norms of two countries

7. Temporal activity of legal norms • Validity of legal norms – moment from which the norm is a part of legal order, norm is valid from the moment of its publication • Effectivity of legal norms - moment from which the norm is binding for the subjects of law, it is in the last provision of normative act • Vacatio legis – period of time between validity and effectivity

8. Termination of validity • Lapse of time – validity is limited in the moment of the adoption of the legal norm • Explicit derogation of the norm by the competent state authority • Automatic derogation by the adoption of a new normative act which regulates the same relations - lex posterior derogat priori (without derogatory clause)

9. Derogatory clause • Enumerativederogatory clause – enumerates all the derogated legal norms or whole normative acts • General derogatory clause – derogates all legal norms contrary to the new normative act • General derogatory clause with the examples of derogated norms

10. Retroactivity of legal norms • True retroactivity – legal norm influences also the legal relations which originated before its effectivity • Pseudo-retroactivity – origin and validity of old legal relations is under influence of derogated norm, next continuation of legal relations is under influence of a new norm

11. Territorial activity of legal norms • Based on the territorial principle – norms are binding on the territory according to competence of state authority which adopted the normative act • Territory of the state includes earth surface, internal waters, coastal waters, underground and airspace • Fictitious territory – boards of aircrafts and ships

12. Personal activity of legal norms • Legal norms are binding for all persons on the territory of a particular state • Some legal norms are binding only for smaller number of persons (soldiers, public officials) • Diplomatic and legislative immunity – exemptions from the activity of criminal law

13. Subject-matter activity of legal norms • Legal relations which are regulated by particular legal norm • Mostly regulated in the first provision of a normative act • General v. special legal norms – principle „lex specialis derogat legi generali“ – special norms have priority over general norms