law and ethics
Conduct's twin guides
Law and ethics are two overlapping systems for governing behavior.
Laws are formal rules enacted and enforced by governments, with penalties for violations.
Ethics are principles of right and wrong that guide conduct, whether codified or not.
The two often align but can diverge—something legal may be unethical, and ethical acts may break laws.
The phrase typically appears in professional contexts: a course in law and ethics, the law and ethics of medical research.
- constitutionInherent physical or structural makeup
- rule of lawSupremacy of established laws
- contractEnforceable written agreement
- good faithSincere, honest intent
- deontologyMorality based on obligations
utilitarianism · civil rights · corporate governance · code of conduct · conflict of interest · statute · legal precedent · evidence · burden of proof · social justice · witness · metaethics · accountability · relativism · regulation · oath · civic responsibility · jury
- legal studieslegal theory, legal doctrine, legal history, legal research, legal education
law and ethicsanarchy
Disorder from absent authority
chaos · lawlessness · disorder · anomie · mayhem
law and ethicsamorality
Lacking ethical concern
immorality · moral bankruptcy · nihilism · wickedness · depravity
law and ethicscrime
Punishable illegal act
criminality · wrongdoing · transgression · villainy · malfeasance
laws, lawful, unlawful, lawfully, lawless, lawlessness, lawyer, lawyers, lawyering