Legal norms

A legal norm is the smallest basic element of the legal system: a rule of conduct set and protected by the state, binding on everyone. Its features: it expresses the will of the state (people), is fixed in official documents, is backed if necessary by the state’s power of compulsion, and regulates the most important social relations. A full legal norm may have three parts. The hypothesis states the conditions – when and to whom the norm applies (“if...”). The disposition is the rule of conduct itself: what must, may or may not be done (“then...”). The sanction is the coercive measure applied if the norm is broken (“otherwise...”). For example: a driver approaching a pedestrian crossing (hypothesis) must give way to pedestrians (disposition); if the driver does not, a fine is imposed (sanction). In some norms the sanction or hypothesis is not stated openly: the Constitution’s rule “The capital of Uzbekistan is the city of Tashkent” contains mainly a disposition. In short: condition – rule – consequence.