Letter of the Law
A law is a written order -- a set of instructions, or software -- that provides directions for human behavior. The entire written content of a law is the "letter of the law," and it is nothing more or less than the fixed arrangement of its words and punctuation. The letter of the law conveys the spirit of the law.
Spirit of the Law
Contained within the letter of the law is the purpose, or intent, which is termed the "spirit of the law." For any given law, the spirit of the law is the hoped-for change, or benefit, that the law will produce, as predicted by the designers of the law. In other words, laws are tools that are intended to be useful. Since the spirit of the law is the reason for its existence, the letter of the law is subordinate to the problem-solving intent of the law.
Sanctions
Laws are the forcible means by which a government achieves its goals; they are coercions, restrictions, prohibitions, or commands for action that attempt to regulate or change the behavior or status of those individuals and institutions that are subject to the law.
To encourage individuals and institutions to comply with the law, each law has a mechanism of enforcement, or authorized sanction (the "carrot or stick"), that is applied to accomplish the intent of the law. Subsidies, fines, and imprisonment are examples of mechanisms that may be used as the forcible sanction of a law.
Costs
All laws consume and divert resources. The costs to a government for the creation and operation of its body of laws are borne by the people. To pay the direct costs of laws, governments create and enforce additional laws (at additional cost to the people) to raise revenue through sanctions such as taxes, fees, and fines.
A law is a written order -- a set of instructions, or software -- that provides directions for human behavior. The entire written content of a law is the "letter of the law," and it is nothing more or less than the fixed arrangement of its words and punctuation. The letter of the law conveys the spirit of the law.
Spirit of the Law
Contained within the letter of the law is the purpose, or intent, which is termed the "spirit of the law." For any given law, the spirit of the law is the hoped-for change, or benefit, that the law will produce, as predicted by the designers of the law. In other words, laws are tools that are intended to be useful. Since the spirit of the law is the reason for its existence, the letter of the law is subordinate to the problem-solving intent of the law.
Sanctions
Laws are the forcible means by which a government achieves its goals; they are coercions, restrictions, prohibitions, or commands for action that attempt to regulate or change the behavior or status of those individuals and institutions that are subject to the law.
To encourage individuals and institutions to comply with the law, each law has a mechanism of enforcement, or authorized sanction (the "carrot or stick"), that is applied to accomplish the intent of the law. Subsidies, fines, and imprisonment are examples of mechanisms that may be used as the forcible sanction of a law.
Costs
All laws consume and divert resources. The costs to a government for the creation and operation of its body of laws are borne by the people. To pay the direct costs of laws, governments create and enforce additional laws (at additional cost to the people) to raise revenue through sanctions such as taxes, fees, and fines.
