Legal Functions in Society

Legal Functions in Society

Law is one means of social change that exists in society. There is an interaction between the legal sector and social changes that occur in society. The existence of changes in law will affect social changes in society and vice versa social changes in society will also affect changes in law. Changes in power also affect changes in law.

Legal Functions

The function of law is to discipline and regulate relationships in society and resolve problems that arise in social life.

  1. Social Engineering As a tool of social engineering (law as a tool for social change) it means that the law functions to create new social conditions, that is, with legal regulations that are created and implemented, there is social engineering, there is social change from circumstances limited life towards a prosperous life or better living conditions.
  2. Dispute settlement As a tool of justification (law as a means of checking whether behavior is correct), namely law as a tool to check whether a behavior is true by knowing the characteristics of truth desired by law, it will quickly be seen when there is something that deviates from that action.
  3. Social control or control (Social Control) As a tool of social control (law as social control), namely controlling our thoughts and steps so that we are always cared for and not doing actions that violate the law.

The function of law is to preserve the public interest in society, safeguard human rights, realize justice in living together and social engineering tools.

The law is not only used to confirm the patterns of ability and behavior found in society, but also to direct the desired goals, eliminate habits that are considered no longer appropriate to create new patterns of behavior. This the law is used as a source.

The function of law in society, namely:

  • The law functions as a regulator.
  • The law functions as a distributor of resources.
  • The law functions as a means to resolve conflicts.
  • The law functions as a safeguard against community expectations.
  • Law functions as an expression of ideals and values in society
    Systematically, the function of law in the development of society is as follows.
  • The function of law as a tool to regulate public relations, which means that the law functions to show people to choose good or bad, so that everything can run in an orderly and orderly manner.
  • The function of law as a means to realize physical and inner social justice.
  • The law serves to determine who is guilty and innocent, can force that rules can be obeyed with the threat of sanctions for violators.
  • The function of law as a means of driving development. The binding force and law can be used or empowered to drive development. The law is used as a tool to take society towards a more advanced direction.
  • The law functions as a determinant of the allocation of authority in detail who can carry out (enforce) the law, who must obey it, who chooses appropriate and fair sanctions, such as the concept of constitutional law of the country.
  • The function of law as a tool for resolving disputes, namely maintaining the ability of the community to adapt to changing living conditions, namely by reformulating the essential relationships between community members.
  • The law functions as a tool of public order and order. Law as a guide for behavior, the community must be aware of the commands and prohibitions in the law so that the legal function as a tool of public order can be realized.
  • The function of law as a tool to realize physical and mental peace. Laws that are binding, coercive and imposed by state authorities have the power to make people afraid to commit violations because there is a threat of punishment and can be applied without selective logging. Thus, peace will be achieved.
  • The law also functions as a means of criticism, meaning that the law not only supervises the public, but also plays a role in supervising government officials, law enforcement officials and the state apparatus. Thus, all people must obey the law.
  • The function of law as a means of unifying the nation and state, and increasing the authority of the state in the eyes of the world.
    From the functions of the legal functions disclosed above, it can be concluded that:

The function of law is as a tool for regulating the rules, means for realizing physical and social justice, a means of driving development, determining the allocation of authority, a tool for resolving disputes, maintaining the ability of the community to adjust to changing living conditions, regulating order in society peacefully and fair, can serve the will of the state, namely to bring prosperity and happiness to the people, for the sake of justice and or benefit to the people by way of protecting the interests of the people. The function of law as order and regulator of relationships in society and resolve the problems that arise.