The application of law is a process that requires special close attention. Moreover, not only the subjects of such an action are important, but also the activity itself. Not only the correct result, but also the legitimacy of the whole process depends on how correctly the sources of law, the subjects that apply them, and the stages are followed.
The application of law is the essence
Entering into any social relations, a person, regardless of his status, acts in accordance with certain social norms. And, of course, the application of law is no exception, especially if the state acts as the actor.
In what cases does this happen:
- basic, when the rule of law itself indicates this fact, for example, when applying for child support;
- when the applicable norm contains elements of subordination to the state as a basic phenomenon, its parts (government and departments);
- when there is a multivariate use of law - in this case, it is the court as a state body that determines the scope of the legal relationship, which means that it implements the corresponding application of the law
- the last, but at the same time voluminous version of the application of law, is to use it as an instrument of punishment for a committed and proven illegal act.
Therefore, based on these cases, we can distinguish that the application of law is characterized by:
- a special subject - the state and / or its bodies;
- bears an individual, strictly directed character for a specific legal fact ;
- has a procedural form defined by law;
- its completion should be in the nature of a legitimate decision.
And therefore, the definition that characterizes the phenomenon in question should look like this:
The application of law is a special activity of the state on the individual use of the country's legislation with the obligatory decision-making on the situation in question.
For a more complete understanding of the essence of this phenomenon, you should familiarize yourself with the main stages of its implementation.
Stages of application of law
Like any process, the individual implementation of the rule of law with the participation of the state goes its logical steps. In relation to the phenomenon under consideration, it is customary to distinguish three main stages, approved by both theoreticians and legal practitioners.
The first stage, called the "establishment of circumstances." At this stage, it is the responsibility of state authorities to determine all the evidence on a specific fact. This stage is most clearly displayed in the criminal process at the stage of the preliminary investigation. But it can also be expressed in the assessment of the data presented.
The second stage is an assessment of compliance with the applicable rule of law and established evidence. In this case, the government body considers how specific the case coincides with the hypothesis of the norm. Moreover, both subject composition and objects are evaluated, as well as a causal relationship.
The third stage is “Making an individual legal decision”, in which the first two stages and their legal result should be clearly reflected. In this case, the state body is obliged to issue the so-called “act of application of law”. They are presented with decisions, orders, decisions, sentences.
The stages of the application of law do not allow changes or deviations from a clearly verified form. The absence or substitution of one stage for another leads to the fact that the act obtained as a result can be challenged and declared illegitimate.
Therefore, the application of law is a clear mechanism that allows not only the state, but also other entities to use legislative and other norms to exercise individual rights.