In society, governmental entities are usually given the mandate to enact laws that govern the people and their activities, make policies and also allocate the resources at all levels. The best definition of public policy therefore is a system that is made up of regulations, laws, funding priorities and course of action regarding an issue that is being disseminated by a certain arm of the government or at times, a representative of the government.
Public policy is usually shaped by people or groups through mobilizing interest groups, advocating or even educating the masses. The shaping of this policy in developed countries especially those in the west differs significantly from other governments. The process however always involves interest groups trying to outdo each other by convincing the policy makers to side them.
Law is very significant in public policy. Law involves certain legislation as well as the constitutional or even the international law. Law may for example influence how violence victims are handled and their rights. Legislation is needed to identify areas for research funding it may even be used to determine the amounts. This usually results in public policy debates over the proposed legislation as well as the funding (Fox 33).
On numerous occasions, public policy has come under intense pressure from various advocacy groups who are intent on influencing it by utilizing different techniques, such as the application of education, political pressure, and lobbying.
Advocacy groups often try to educate the public and the lawmakers about the problems that people face on a daily basis. In addition, they also try to educate the members of the public on the various services that they are entitled to, and the possible legislative solutions to ensure that the members of the public get access to such services.
Furthermore, the advocacy groups also try to educate the public on the needed funding for service provision as well as the research to be conducted. Advocacy may be perceived as unconventional by those in the research or professional community although it plays a very significant role in influencing the public policy. Research data is used to influence public policy and it is also needed to educate civilians and policy makers.
The doctrine is concerned with the principles that govern the legal system’s operations in every state. These principles help in addressing the economic, moral as well as the social values that holds a society together. These values vary from culture to culture and they also tend to change with time. Laws are responsible for the regulation of behavior to reinforce the social expectations that are in existence or encourage positive change.
The laws are only effective if they are in line with the norms of a society and reflect a society’s norms. Every judicial system is supposed to have certain features for it to be perceived as being viable. To start with, it is important to ensure that the judicial system in question is able to demonstrate neutrality by being impartial. It needs to exhibit flexibility and openness. It has to be certain and able to grow.
These qualities are needed because the judicial system is meant for dispute resolution and this is done in a systematic and fare manner as opposed to the violent means that are used whenever dispute resolution is left in the hands of the common public or private individuals. There is therefore a need to convince citizens to use the system of the court in handling dispute resolution (Watson 50).
A judge must refer to the underlying policies before ruling on any dispute. In addition, laws need to be at per with the social innovations. Laws may also be amended depending on the dispute and legal requirements at hand.
Ignorance is never an excuse for performing any sort of crime. Major legislatures therefore ensure that their laws are availed to the citizens at all costs. The law affects people’s personal lives directly and the adults are expected to know the legal consequences of their actions before they act.
They are only exempted from the full force of the law if they are mentally unstable. Furthermore, the sanctity of life seems to be the major policy that underpins most of the religious, moral as well as social systems. In law for instance, duress is never accepted as enough defense against murder for threat alone does not justify one to end the life of another. The law regards life as important and its protection is importance.
This has in most cases fueled the debate of whether it is justifiable for a patient to choose death as an option rather than live. The nagging question in most cases is usually whether there is such a concept as one’s right to die. A more complicated situation is that in which a patient is unable to choose as in the case of a child during the mother’s gestation period (Hix 2-8).
In law, people are not permitted to evade from their obligations and the associated liabilities. Due to social contract, the law is supposed to equally apply to everyone without favoring some. No one is supposed to be exempted from the law due to his/her societal rank or status.
The law of contract, on the contrary allow parties to make an agreement and hence excluding them from the other operational laws. These policies are usually specific to the major branches of the law. There is one policy in family law for instance which stipulates that the state is the overall parent or guardian of its children and the children are entitled to their rights under such a provision. The state is supposed to protect the interests of its children.
There is a policy that overlaps between the contract law and the family law. This stipulates that a marriage that is entered into with a commitment that could be termed as genuine is supposed to be perceived as valid unless if there is a valid reason for the validity to be nullified. This matches the contract law. The reason for this is to make effective the involved parties’ expectations.
State laws come into being due to various reasons. Some are meant to protect the nation’s sovereignty and they reflect territoriality. Public laws mostly apply within a country’s boundaries. Other policies are as a result of social contract. These policies define and regulate the relationship between the people and their country. Some rights apply across the globe and it is the state that decides the level to which they operate in its territories (Tavares 11).
The world seems to be moving towards globalization at a fast rate and people tend to be moving across the boarders at an increased rate. There is therefore a need to have some harmonized principles that ensure justice and order across the boarders. In this case, foreign law may be enforced.
The conflicts that are across boarders could be handled by adopting the conflict laws. The application of foreign law by a court is not supposed to contradict the public policy. Giving preference to the domestic laws over foreign laws has its own negative consequences as well. Judicial systems may prefer not to involve public policy when dealing with a foreign issue than with a legal issue that could be perceived as domestic.
Public policy is magnified in countries under the treaty and obligations involving human rights. Courts may rule as gender discrimination in the cases where a husband is granted permission to divorce his wife while the reverse cannot really happen. The legitimacy of polygamous marriages is also put under scrutiny in this case.
The courts are however supposed to handle these matters with caution so as not to be perceived as discriminating against religion. Another challenge is posed in the cases where a state allows incestuous relationships. There are places for instance where an uncle can marry a niece while in some underage marriages are allowed (Lunt 100).
In the events where the foreign laws are used as tools of oppression, then there is reason to deny them extra-territorial enforcement. Contracts can also be denied enforcement in the cases where such contacts expose the state to its enemies or if they are likely to ruin their relationship with a friendly state. Policy is very significant in enforcing foreign judgments.
Laws are not just fundamental but are also a unique government resource. Without laws, anarchy would be the order of the day. Force and personal preferences would be used to justify the government actions. Without laws, the people would not be protected against dictatorship and arbitrary authority.
They would be entitled to no social benefits and they would not be obliged to pay the taxes. The civil servants would lack the authority to follow and there would be no procedures to be followed. Elections could not be held as there would be no rules to govern the same. There is therefore a great need to understand the importance of the law.
Laws therefore help in guiding people to carry out their activities in a systematic way. Despite the fact that laws are vital in the public resources operations as well as the government operations, there is no need for excessive legislation as this could force the citizens to be mechanical. The statute law is therefore very significant in conducting the public policy. Public policy helps people by giving them strategies that assist them to meet their needs at every government level.
The government together with the public policy groups give expert counseling, advice, litigation and transactional services to not only at individual but also organizational level particularly when the parties involved have a dispute or misunderstanding in their business with the government bodies. The clients are help to develop an effective as well a comprehensive strategy to navigate the system of the government (Phelps 2-4).
Works Cited
Fox, R. Criminal Justice. Abstract. London: Macmillan Publishers, 1968. Print.
Hix, S. Worldwide Political Science Abstracts. Abstract. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1975. Print.
Lunt, Nelson. Academic Universe. Manusript. San Antonio: Greenwood Press, 2004. Print.
Phelps, Marcy. American Community Survey. Census. Puerto Rico: Washington, 2010. Print.
Tavares, Charles. Criminal Justice. Survey. San Antonio: University of Texas, 2005-2009. Print.
Watson, Ian. Social Services. Abstract. Texas: University of Texas, 1980. Print.