Positive Law
The law in force in a country is called positive law. Positive law is applied law. It is the law that is valid in a country. It does not matter whether it is written or unwritten.
Subject Law
Written legal rules established by competent public authorities, especially the legislative body, are called subject law. Legislative law consists of the constitution, international treaties, laws, decrees, presidential decrees, statutes, regulations, and other written legal rules. Collectively, these are called legislation. The term “legislative law” does not cover outdated written legal rules or unwritten customary law, which is part of positive law. The difference from positive law is that it is written. Laws that are in force but not written are not considered substantive law. For example, the Turkish Code of Obligations and the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Natural Law
The thing that guides the law to be applied, that expresses how it should be, is law.
In other words, it refers not to the law applied in a specific place and time, but to universal law that is assumed to be most appropriate to social needs, human nature, the nature of things, justice, and fairness. According to the Roman thinker Cicero, natural law cannot be abolished. Neither the legislature nor society can abolish natural law. You don’t need to be a legal scholar to understand this. Natural law is the same everywhere. Today, the function of natural law is to guide those who determine the rules of law.
The difference between positive law and natural law is as follows: positive law refers to the law that is applicable and should be natural law.
Objective Law – Subjective Law
In Western languages, the word “law” is used in the sense of authority, which can be defined as any benefit protected by law and granting the owner the right to use it. Therefore, in these countries, different adjectives are added before these words to distinguish between the concepts of law and rights; the subjective “law” is used to express the concept of rights, while the word “law” is used to express the concept of law. Since the words law and rights are used with different meanings in Turkish, it cannot be said that it is necessary to add objective and subjective adjectives to them.
Equality Law
This is the law that expands the formal aspects of positive law, results from the application of legal rules, and aims to correct outcomes that are contrary to justice. It has an exceptional nature and occupies an important place, particularly in the discretionary power granted to judges.
Substantive Law – Procedural Law
The fundamental legal rules that govern social relations, recognize the rights of individuals, and define their obligations are referred to as substantive law. In this sense, the Turkish Commercial Code, the Turkish Penal Code, the Labor Code, the Turkish Civil Code, and the Turkish Code of Obligations are examples of substantive law. The legal procedures that show how rights are obtained and obligations are fulfilled constitute procedural law. More specifically, the rules determining which court a case should be brought before are part of procedural law. Similarly, the time limit for bringing a case and the rights and obligations of the plaintiff and defendant are also among the subjects covered by procedural law. The Administrative Procedure Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Civil Procedure Code are examples of procedural law.
Legal Science
Legal science is the discipline that systematically explains positive legal rules by determining and analyzing them using scientific methods. Classical legal science attempts to classify and systematize the content of all rules in force at a specific time and place in a logical manner. The disciplines studied in legal science are: legal dogmatics, legal history, legal policy, legal philosophy, legal sociology, forensic medicine, and forensic psychology.
Legal Dogmatics (Dogmatic Law): The branch of science that systematically examines the legal rules in force in a specific place and time is called positive legal science or legal dogmatics. When dealing with legal dogmatics, based on the historical meaning of dogma, it follows that the current legal rules should be explained according to their meaning in the text, but not criticized. This was a particularly prevalent understanding in Europe during the period when religious law was in force. This was because religious law was considered to be the product of divine will and therefore beyond criticism.
Legal History: The branch of science that examines legal rules from a historical perspective and explains the stages they have gone through is called legal history. This discipline offers the opportunity to compare the historical foundations of legal rules and institutions and their stages at different times. It also provides the opportunity to examine the institutions of other countries on the same subject in terms of their position.
Legal Policy:
By examining the subject and function of legal policy, it establishes rules, fills gaps, and addresses unsuccessful issues in terms of positive law, the needs of society, and the legal system.
It is to offer new suggestions to solve problems.
Forensic Medicine: It is a branch of science concerned with the application of medical knowledge, particularly to problems in the field of criminal law.
Forensic Psychology: A discipline that enables the use of psychological knowledge in the field of law and the justice profession.
Philosophy of Law: A discipline that examines topics such as the source of law, the concept of law, and how law should be consistent with justice, and approaches law from a holistic perspective. Legal philosophy aims to develop a universal understanding of law and justice. This discipline also examines the reasons for the necessity of legal rules.
Legal Sociology: It deals with the social events that lead to the emergence of abstract legal rules. This is because legal rules are closely related to the structure of society. Legal sociology attempts to establish a causal link between legal rules and social events. In this context, legal sociology examines socio-legal events such as marriage, divorce, dowry, and suicide, taking into account the cause-and-effect relationship.