Basic Guide For Law

1. By : Burhanuddin Tambawala

2. The political society?
 Is the greater society which in a given territory, it has
independence to achieve its mission which is the
betterment of the material life of its members.

3. Some terms
 Nation- Totality of its members
 Country -The land where the society is established
 Republic or Kingdom- refer to the system of
government
 State, or the government of that particular country or
nation-administrative structure

4. Authority
 When there are diversity of parts or functions in a
group they have necessarily to be organised,
coordinated, directed and regulated.
 The author is the one who knows, the wise, the one
who organises.

5. The purpose of politics

6.  Is the common good of the citizens
 Political authorities are not to decide on what we
should do, they are there to coordinate, to organise
society, but society is the one who should act. They are
not to take the initiative from the citizens but help the
citizens to take the necessary steps to develop
themselves and develop others.

7. :
 Inviolable principles which guarantee and enhance the
personal freedom of the members of the society which
the government has to gurantee:

8.  They have to create the environment for the personal
freedoms to thrive

9.  They have to promote development

10.  The have to create a culture of peace which has two
elements, stability and security

11. Essential elements of the state
 Territory
 The community living in it (members)
 Authority
 Goals.

12. Territory
 The territory is a must for the political society
 It is required for the living and maintenance of the
people
 The territory includes land, water and air space

13. Members
 Normally those who are born in the territory
 Citizenship is the legal recognition of being a member
of a particular state, which carries legal rights and
duties as established in the particular laws of each
country.

14. Authority
 Is the moral power to act on behalf of the society. It
entails the duty to promote and protect the conditions
necessary for the full development of the citizens.

15. Goals
 The government has to specify well what are its aims,
which have to be in accordance with the common
natural good of its citizens

16. Types of government
 Aristotle in his classic book Politics, classifies the types
of government according to the number of those who
take the decisions, one, several or all and according to
the virtue and aim they have

17. Rule by Virtuous, capable
and aiming at the
good of all
For its own good
One Monarchy Tyranny
Few Aristocracy Oligarchy
All Democracy Demagogy

18. What is authority?
 Authority is the power to influence or command
thought, opinion, or behaviour.
 Derived from this meaning can also be said of “the
persons in command” (who is the authority here?) and
more specifically “those in government” or of the
“governmental agencies or corporations”.
 It comes from the Latin word “auctoritas” which
means opinion, decision, or power.

19.  "power" refers to the ability to achieve certain ends,
"authority" refers to the legitimacy, justification and
right to exercise that power
Example: Mob Justice and Judge

20.  People obey authority out of respect, while they obey
power out of fear
 Authority as reality is a relation between those in
authority, those subjected to the authority and has a
domain or field which is the extent or limit to which
the relation applies.

21. Legitimacy
 Authority is different from coercion, force, and power
because it requires its acceptance from the subjects.
The subjects perceive they have a duty to obey, either
because they have given the authority to those in
authority, or because they have it given from a higher
authority

22. Why should we obey?
 The foundation of the moral duty to obey amazingly
enough is our freedom. We obey because we want to
obey, to obey we require a internal decision, otherwise
it is not obedience, but compliance. Compliance is
simply to do what we are asked to do without putting
our heart into it.

23. Law
 Law is a rule of conduct established by an
authority able to enforce it. (Webster Dictionary)
 Rules are statements that request members to do or
abstain of a particular act or describe how to do it,
(positive, negative rules and procedures)

24. Justice
 Justice is a moral virtue, something that affects each
one of us in our relations with other people. It is the
stable willingness of giving each one what is his due.
Justice is what justifies any law. All laws should be just,
but, at times, the legislators make mistakes or are not
just, and then the laws are unjust

25.  All laws, unless clearly unjust, obliged morally, i.e. the
citizens have a personal duty of obeying them in
conscience. The importance of the law conveys the
importance of the obligation

26. Purpose of the law
 To provide the most complete protection for the rights
to life, liberty, and property.
 To promote justice but it does it mainly by preventing
harm, not by encouraging or mandating good.

27. Rule of law
 The rule of law is concerned with regulating the use of
power. Whereas society is a spontaneous order, the
state is a protective agent with the monopoly role of
enforcing the rules of the game. Since the monopoly on
coercion belongs to the government, it is imperative
that this power not be misused. Under the rule of law,
everyone is bound by rules, including the government.

28. Corruption

29.  Write own definition
 Compare with your neighbour

30. Definition
 Is a general concept describing any organized,
interdependent system in which part of the system is
either not performing duties it was originally intended
to, or performing them in an improper way, to the
detriment of the system's original purpose

31.  ‘Corruption is the abuse of power by a public official
for private gain.’
 Corruption, when applied to officers, trustees, etc.,
signifies the inducing a violation of duty by means of
pecuniary considerations

32. Political corruption
 The dysfunction of a political system or institution in
which government officials, political officials or
employees seek illegitimate personal gain

33. Forms of political corruption
 Bribery
 Extortion
 Cronyism
 Nepotism
 Patronage
 Graft
 Embezzlement.

34.  All forms of government are susceptible to political
corruption

35. Bribery
 Requires two participants: one to give the bribe, and
one to take it. Often difficult to prove
 Bribes may be demanded in order for an official to do
something he is already paid to do. They may also be
demanded in order to bypass laws and regulations.

36. Graft
 Graft only requires that the official gains something of
value, not part of his official pay, when doing his work.
Large "gifts" qualify as graft, and most countries have
laws against it.
 Another example of graft is a politician using his
knowledge of zoning to purchase land which he knows
is planned for development, before this is publicly
known, and then selling it at a significant profit

37. Extortion
 Payment may be demanded by corrupt officials who
otherwise threaten to make illegitimate use of state
force in order to inflict harm.

38. Patronage
 Refers to favoring supporters, for example with
government employment.
 It can be seen as corruption if this means that
incompetent persons, as a payment for supporting the
regime, are selected before more able ones.
 Selection for loyalty rather than ability.

39. Nepotism
 Favoring relatives (nepotism) or personal friends
(cronyism) is a form of illegitimate private gain.

40. Embezzlement
 Is outright theft of entrusted funds. It is a
misappropriation of property

41. Kickback
 Kickback is an official's share of misappropriated
funds allocated from his or her organization to an
organization involved in corrupt bidding.

42. Effects of corruption in the
society
 Effects on politics, administration, and
institutions
 Economic effects
 Environmental and social effects

43. Effects on politics, administration, and
institutions
 Corruption in elections and in legislative bodies
reduces accountability and distorts representation in
policymaking
 corruption in the judiciary compromises the rule of
law; and corruption in public administration results in
the unfair provision of services
 corruption erodes the institutional capacity of
government as procedures are disregarded, resources
are siphoned off, and public offices are bought and
sold

44. Economic effects
 corruption increases the cost of business through the
price of illicit payments themselves.
 The availability of bribes can also induce officials to
contrive new rules and delays.
 Diverting public investment into capital projects
where bribes and kickbacks are more plentiful.
 Corruption also lowers compliance with construction,
environmental, or other regulations.
 Reduces the quality of government services and
infrastructure, and increases budgetary pressures on
government

45. Environmental and social
effects
 Corruption facilitates environmental destruction
 Violation of laws and rights (child labor and workers
rights) enables corrupt countries to gain an
illegitimate economic advantage in the international
market

46. Conditions favorable for
corruption
 Information deficits
 Lacking control over and accountability of the
government
 Opportunities and incentives
 Social conditions
NB: The breeding grounds for corruption lie in a culture
where there seems to be very little or almost no
punishment for it and where the rewards for being
corrupt seem much greater than the risk of being
caught

47. Reading Assignment
 What are some of the causative factors for corruption
in Kenya?
 What remedies can you propose to end corruption in
Kenya?

48. That’s all!