In order to understand this statement we must first have a clear understanding of what the law is and distinguish this from other rules in society such as morals. The law, as defined by the NALP course notes, is “a body or set of rules within a State, which the State will enforce and which are designed to regulate human conduct within that State”. Therefore, the set of rules may vary from country to country and they must be enforced by the State.
In comparison morals, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is “the code of behavior that is considered right or acceptable in a particular society”. Morals therefore differ from country to country in the same way as the law does, however morals do not have to be enforced by a particular body such as the legal system.
For us to be able to accept that the law is based on morals we need to assess what the elements of a good law are. In order for a law to be effective it must be accepted by society as a whole. If the society doesn’t accept the law then it will not be respected and ultimately will not be enforceable without significant backlash from society for change. In this sense it seems quite acceptable then that the laws of the society need to, and do, reflect the morals of that society. The laws need to be based on what the society believes to be right/wrong and acceptable/unacceptable behaviour. The problem here, especially in the modern society we now live in, is that there is not one clear set of moral rules within a society. There are many cultures living in one society who bring different customs and attitudes to what is believed to be right and wrong and the significance of these actions. Behavior which is deemed to be acceptable can also vary between the social classes or age groups within society and across different parts of the country. An example of this is the phenomenon of illegal downloading of music. To older generations and some members of society this is clearly viewed as a form of theft and is...