Legal Definitions - made law

Made law, also known as positive law, refers to legal rules that have been formally created, enacted, or declared by human institutions, such as legislatures, government agencies, or courts. Unlike concepts of natural law or divine law, made law is identifiable because it originates from a specific human authority and is typically written down or officially recorded. It represents the body of rules that a society has consciously chosen to establish and enforce.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: A New Traffic Statute

  Imagine a city council passes a new ordinance that prohibits parking on certain busy streets during rush hour to improve traffic flow. Before this ordinance, parking was allowed. This new rule is a made law because it was deliberately created and formally enacted by a human legislative body (the city council) through a specific process. It did not exist until the council decided to establish it.

• Example 2: Environmental Protection Regulations

  A national environmental agency, tasked with protecting natural resources, issues a new set of regulations requiring all new manufacturing plants to install specific air filtration systems to reduce emissions. These regulations are a form of made law because they were formally established by a government agency acting under its delegated authority. They are specific rules created by a human institution to govern industrial practices.

• Example 3: A Landmark Court Ruling

  A country's supreme court hears a case regarding online privacy and rules that individuals have a fundamental right to control their personal data shared on social media platforms. This ruling sets a new legal precedent that lower courts must follow. This judicial decision creates made law because the court, a human institution, has formally declared a new legal principle that shapes how privacy is understood and protected in the digital age. The specific application and binding nature of this right in this context is a new rule established by the court.