CLASSIFICATIONS OF LAW

The classifications of law are the different categories into which all areas of law
can be collated (gathered). A particular classification of law encompasses (includes) all
types of law but it distributes them according to a particular unique characteristic.

The following are the major classifications of law:

1. Public and Private Law

2. Civil Law and Criminal Law
3. Substantive and Procedural Law
4. Municipal and International Law
5. Written and Unwritten Law 6. Common Law and Equity

1. Public and Private Law: Public Law can be defined as that aspect of Law
that deals with the relationship between the state, its citizens, and other states. It is one
that governs the relationship between a higher party — the state — and a lower one,
the citizens. Examples of public law include Constitutional Law, Administrative Law,
Criminal Law, International Law and so on.

Private law, on the other hand, is that category of the law that concerns itself
with the relationship amongst private citizens. Examples include the Law of Torts,
the Law of Contract, the Law of Trust and so on.

2. Civil Law and Criminal Law: Civil law in this regard can be defined as the
aspect of Law that deals with the relationship between citizens and provides means for
remedies if the right of a citizen is breached. Examples of civil law include the Civil
Procedure Code, the Law of Contract, the Law of Torts, Family Laws etc.

Criminal Law, on the other hand, can be referred to as that aspect of Law that
regulates crime in the society. It punishes acts which are considered harmful to the
society at large. An example of criminal law is the Criminal Procedure Code, Pakistan
Penal Act which are applicable in Pakistan.

When treating a criminal case, the standard of proof to be used is a proof beyond
reasonable doubt. Also, the burden of proof does not shift from the prosecution. What
this means is that before a conviction can be gotten, the state has to prove the
commission of the crime to be beyond reasonable doubt.
 On the other hand, in civil cases, the standard of proof is on the balance of
probabilities. Also, the burden of proof shifts between both parties when they need to
establish their case. Judgment normally goes in favour of the particular party that has
been able to prove its case more successfully.

3. Substantive and Procedural Law: Substantive Law is the main body of the
law dealing with a particular area of law. For example, the substantive law in relation to
Criminal Law includes the Pakistan Penal Act and the Contract Act..

Procedural law, on the other hand, is law in that deals with the process which the
courts must follow in order to enforce the substantive law. Examples include
the Criminal Procedure Code and the Civil Procedure Code.

4. Municipal/Domestic and International Law: Municipal/Domestic law is the

aspect of law which emanates from and has effect on members of a specific state. An
example of a municipal Pakistani law is the Constitution of Pakistan (1973) which
applies in only Pakistan Territory.

International law, on the other hand, is the law between countries. It regulates
the relationship between different independent countries and is usually in the form of
treaties, international customs etc. Examples of International law include the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s
Rights.

5. Written and Unwritten Law: A law would not be regarded as written just
because it is written down in a document. Written laws are those laws that have been
validly enacted by the legislature of a country.

Unwritten laws, on the other hand, are those laws that are not enacted by the
legislature. They include both customary and case law. Customary Law as part of its
basic characteristic is generally unwritten. Case law, though written down in a
documentary format, would be regarded as unwritten law based on the fact that it is not
enacted by the legislature.
 6. Common Law and Equity: In the legal sense, the term Common Law means
the law developed by the old common law courts of the King’s Bench, the Courts of
Common Pleas and the Courts of Exchequer.

The English common law is regarded as such because it is law common to all parts of
England. It grew over time from the practices, customs and way of life of the people. It is
largely unwritten. The first common law judge was the King himself. People who had
disputes usually brought them to the King to settle them.

However, due to matters of state, the king didn’t have time to settle all cases. As a
result of this, the king appointed members of his court who were to settle disputes in his
stead. These judges had the authority of the king and any disobedience to them was
treated as disobedience to the king and punishment was swift.

These different judges travelled the length and breadth of the realm to settle disputes.
When they got to a particular location, they applied the customary law in that location in
order to settle disputes. Regularly, these different itinerant (travelling) judges would
come together to compare the different customary laws they encountered on their
travels.

They discarded customs that were thought to be insensible and accepted those which
were sensible. This led to the conglomeration (collection) of different customs which
were then applied all through the realm. This then metamorphosed (changed) into the
common law of England.

However, the common law was strict, formal and full of legalism. One example of this
was in its system of writs. If an action did not fit into a writ, there was no remedy for
such action. Also, the only remedy available in common law was that of damages.

Due to the harshness of common law, the people petitioned the King directly for
judgment. The Lord Chancellor, as the King’s Prime Minister, was the one that dealt
with most of these petitions. His court was called the Court of Chancery/Equity. The
Lord Chancellor was usually a bishop and thus, he applied the principle of fairness and
natural law in making his decisions.

Subsequently, there was conflict between the common law court and the court of
chancery. This conflict came to head in the Earl of Oxford’s case. In this case, the
plaintiff was the assignee of a lease and he built a house and planted a garden on the
land. Subsequently, the defendant/owner of the land sought to evict him from the land.
The assignee thus sued and lost at common law, and he appealed to the court of
chancery.

The court of equity accepted his petition and allowed him to stay on the land. The
reasoning of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Ellesmere, was that by natural law, it was only
fair and just for a person who builds a house to be able to live in that house.

This judgment prompted Lord Coke, the Chief Justice of the King’s Bench to accuse the
Lord Chancellor of frustrating the rules of common law. The matter was brought to the
King who referred it to Lord Francis Bacon. Francis Bacon supported the court of equity
and ruled that whenever there was a clash between common law and equity, equity
would prevail.

This ruling however, did not help to completely solve the problem between the two
courts. This was due to the fact that the common law courts could only grant the remedy
of damages and thus, anyone seeking a different remedy would first pass through the
common law courts before going to equity.

Over the years, the two systems were merged till finally, in 1875, the Judicature Act
fused the two systems into one court. However, although they are applied in one court,
the rules of common law and equity can be distinguished from each other. This is what
prompts the statement “Although the two streams now flow into one, their waters do not
mix.

In short, cases in Common System are decided on Precedents while in

Equity cases are decided on Conscience.
Common System is a complete legal system but you cannot call Equity a
Separate legal system, it is part of Common Law system.
Equity comes when common law fails to deliver justice. So purpose of Equity
is to assist Common law.

But if you want to go in to details, read following passages. It will give you a
brief historical development of Common System Law and Equity.

Common law system was introduced by Normans when they invaded

England.
In this legal system king use to decide cases. There were royal courts to
administer local matters. With the passage of time King mobilized this legal
system and appointed royal judges to different counties of England and
Wales.
But this system was not a perfect legal system and it had its own defects.

As the time passed the decision started to become precedents and future
cases were decided in the light of these precedents.
There was a writ system in which only those cases were heard in courts
which fall under the definition of such actions.

So to resolve this issue King appointed Chancelors to hear such cases which
were out of the jurisdiction of Common Law or went unheard in Court of King
or Royal Courts. In this system plaintiff did not require assent of King.
Chancelor ignored precedents and decided cases on his own conscience and
soon equity courts become so popular that all cases started to come in Court
of Chancelor.

Then a time came when a conflict arose between Common law system and
equity that which court is effective?
To solve this conflict Judicature act was introduced in 1873.

To cut the long story short, Common Law system and Equity both have
same purpose which is to deliver justice. Common Law system seeks
guidance from Precedents while in Equity cases are decided on conscience.
Classification of Law
According to Blackstone, “Law in its most general and comprehensive sense
signified a rule of action and is applied indiscriminately to all kind of action whether
animate (living), rational, irrational. Thus we say the laws of motion, of gravitation, of
optics or mechanics as well as the laws of nature and of nations.”

Before understanding the classification of law we need to understand

the definition of Law. The explanation differs from person to person and it may be seen
from the different angle, and one angle does not take the view of the other. For a
lawyer, the parameter of law is largely about cases. On the other hand, it is all about
justice to be done in good conscience. Law is defined by different jurists on basis of its
‘nature’, ‘sources’ and in term of effect in the society and unless all the elements are
taken into consideration it will not make a perfect definition of law.

Importance of Classification of Law

For a proper understanding of the law, it is necessary to classify it. Classification

of it is important because it becomes easy to understand the meaning, nature and
purpose of the law if it is classified properly. We can easily understand the subjects of
that law and its enforcement measures. It also helps in getting the logical structure of
the legal order. Further, it provides a systematic arrangement of rules. Classification of
law also helps in the codification of law. It also tells the interrelation between different
laws. And lastly, it is of a great help to the lawyers.

Classification is an age-old concept

Classification of law is not a new process. It has been done since early Roman
time. There was a classification of civil and criminal law and both had a different
procedure. Even as the society started to develop there was a classification of
International law and Municipal Law.

Limitations of classification of Law

1. Any classification will have relative Value and not the universal value. As it is
known that law changes from time to time and from place to place. The old law
may be in some classification category but when the new law came in place of it
might go in some other category.
 2. Classification keeping in mind a particular community or group may not be
applicable to all, it may fall into one category in one country and it may fall into
another category in another country.
3. The distinction between different laws is not very clear such as Torts, Contracts,
Quasi Contracts.

Kinds of Law by Sir John Salmond, Imperative, Physical,

Natural Law
Sir John Salmond refers to eight kinds of law, Imperative Law, Physical
(Scientific) Law, Natural (Moral) Law, Conventional Law, Customary Law, Practical
(Technical) Law, International Law and Civil Law.
IMPERATIVE LAW

“Imperative Law means a rule of action imposed upon mere by some authority
which enforces obedience to it.” In other words it is a command enforced by some
superior power either physically or in any other form of compulsion.

There are two kinds of imperative law, Divine or Human.

1. Divine laws are consists of the commands imposed by God upon men either by
threats of punishments or by hope of his blessings.
2. Human laws are the laws by analogy.
Here Sir John Salmond classifies human Laws into four sub classes.
 Imperative Laws imposed and enforced by state (Civil Law).
 Imperative Law imposed & enforced by members of society (Moral Law).
 Those imposed & enforced by different institutions or autonomous bodies like
universities, Airline Companies etc. they are called “autonomic law”.
 Those imposed upon states by the society of states are called International Law.

Physical Laws are expressions of the

1. Uniformities of nature and general principles expressing the

2. Regularity and
3. Harmony observable in the activities and operations of universe
They are not the creation of men and cannot be changed by them. Human laws change
from time to time and from country to country but physical laws are invariable forever.
The uniform actions of human beings, such as law of psychology, also fall into this
class. They express not what man ought to do, but what they do.

Practical or Technical Law

It consists of principles and rules for the attainment of certain ends, e.g. laws of
health, laws of architecture. These rules guide us as to what we ought to do in order to
attain certain ends, within this category the laws of music and laws of style.

Natural or Moral Law

“By natural or moral law is meant the principles of natural right and wrong (the
principles of natural justice)”. Natural laws have been called.

 Divine law i.e. commands of God imposed upon men

 Law of reason i.e. being established by that reason by which’ the world is
governed
 Unwritten law (as being written not on brazen tablets or on pillars of stone but by
the finger of nature in the hearts of people)
 Universal or common law (being of universal validity)
 Eternal law (being uncreated and invariable)
 Moral law (being the expression of the principles of morality)
Conventional Law
It is the body of rules agreed upon- and followed by the concerned parties to regulate
their mutual conduct. It is a form of special law and law for the parties which can be
made valid or enforced through an agreement. A good example of conventional law is
the laws of cricket or any other game, rules of a club. It has been further divided into two
groups which are:

1. Rules enforced by the parties themselves but not recognized by the state, e.g. the
rules of hokey.
2. Rules which are recognized and enforced by the state, e.g. contract etc.
Customary Law
Customary laws are those rules of custom that are habitually followed by the majority of
persons subject to them in the belief of binding nature: According to Salmond,
customary law means “any rule of action which is actually observed by men (any rule
which is the expression of some actual uniformity of voluntary action).” When a custom
is firmly established, it is enforced by the authority of the state. Custom is not law by
itself but an important source of law. Only those customs acquired the force of law,
which are recognized by the Courts.
International Law
According to Hughes, “International law is the body of principles and rules which
civilized states consider as binding upon them in their mutual relations.” It can be
defined as “the name for the body of customary and conventional rules, which are
considered legally binding by civilized states in their intercourse with each other.”
According to Salmond- it is consisted of those rules which the sovereign states have
agreed to observe in their dealings with one another. International agreements are of
two kinds. They are either expressed or implied. Express agreements are contained in
treaties and conventions, while implied agreements are to be found in the custom or
practice of the states. International law is of two kinds.

 Public International Law: It prevails universally in all over the world.

 Private International Law: It is enforced only between some of states.
Civil Law
It is the law of the states regarding the land. Civil law according to Salmond is “the law
of the state or the law of the land, the law of lawyers and the law of courts.” Civil law is
the positive law .or the land, which means the law as it exists. It is backed by the force
and might of the state for purposes of enforcement. Civil law differs from special law as
the latter applies only in special circumstances. The other term used for the civil law is
municipal law and national law.