Natural law is a current of law.
The etymological origin of the term natural law that concerns us now is found in Latin and Greek. Specifically, we can state that it is a word composed from the union of two lexical components of said languages:
-The Latin noun “ius, iuris”, which can be translated as “Right” or “law”.
-The Latin adjective “naturalis”, which is the result of adding “natura”, which means “nature”, and the suffix “-alis”, which is used to indicate “relationship”.
-The Greek suffix “-ism”, which is used to refer to doctrines or beliefs.
What is natural law
Natural law is a philosophical or thought current developed in the field of law as the foundation of human rights . For natural law, the origin of this type of rights is found in the very nature of people .
In this way, natural law maintains that natural right is that which human beings have due to the fact of being, precisely, human beings. It is linked, therefore, to the nature of individuals.
This means that, for natural law, there are universal rights that are superior, precedent and independent of customary law, positive law and written law. These universal rights correspond to natural laws .
Legal positivism , on the contrary, considers that the source of law is the written legal system that governs at a given time. Unlike natural law, it is based on positive laws.
Plato was one of the pioneers in proposing natural law.
The natural right
The pillar of natural law, in short, is the belief in the existence of universal principles that are linked to good and evil, from which natural rights (or human rights) and natural laws emanate as a supralegal framework. It is inherent to the human being beyond nationality, gender, ethnicity, religion and social position and is alien to any historical modification.
This natural right, due to its condition, does not need to be written for it to be valid, since it is not a creation of man but rather comes from nature. Positive law , on the other hand, must be put into writing for the establishment of the legal system it regulates.
Historical origins of natural law
It is considered that one of the first to propose natural law in his own way was the Greek philosopher Plato and he would also be followed by the other great philosopher Aristotle. However, throughout history there have been many figures who have opted for it. We are also referring, for example, to Zeno of Citium, Cicero, Seneca, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau or even Immanuel Kant.
On the contrary, among those who have openly expressed opposition to this trend are other well-known figures such as Alf Ross, Karl Bath, Gustav Radbruch or even Norberto Bobbio.
Likewise, it is necessary to make it clear that within natural law there are different currents. What these come to make clear is the evolution and development that it has had throughout history as well as the different contributions that those who defend it have made.