Human Law

Man has an aptitude for virtue, but, since the fall, he has also a strong inclination to inordinate pleasure and a proneness to evil. Man requires training, especially when he is young, so thathe may avoid evil. And men who are evil need to be restrained. Both helpful training and suitable restraints must deal in some detail with human actions. Hence, to promote the application and fulfillment of the natural law, human laws are framed.

True human laws are rooted in the natural law, for theyare derived from it, and they seek to apply it in special situations.

St. Isidore lists the qualities of human positive laws(that is, laws set forth in positive enactments of government) as follows: “Law shall be virtuous, just, possible to nature,according to the customs of a country, suitable in place and time,necessary, useful, clearly expressed, framed for no private benefit but for the common good of the people.”

Human law as a reasoned general conclusion or derivation from the natural law appears in “the law of nations” or international law. As applied in various situations within each nation, human law is called civil law.