SEX WORK AND THE LAW - HIV/AIDS Data Hub

Legal terms
Law: Laws are rules prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a
controlling authority. Laws include national and sub-national legislation and provisions of
constitutional law and international law. In common law countries, judgments of courts also
form a part of the law of the country. Laws are interpreted and enforced through the courts.
Legislation: Legislation is a law or a body of laws enacted by a parliament or another
body with law-making powers.
Policy: Public policies are statements of priorities, strategies, plans or guidelines created
by government agencies. Policies are generally created, promoted, interpreted and
enforced through the executive branch of government. Policy differs from law. While a
law can compel or prohibit conduct, policy merely guides actions to achieve a desired
outcome.
Convention / Treaty: The term ‘convention’ is synonymous with the term ‘treaty’. These
terms are used to refer to instruments that are binding according to international law, and
are agreed between States and/or international organizations.
Usually the instruments negotiated under the auspices of an international organization
are called ‘conventions’ (e.g., the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the
United Nations).
Protocol: In international law, a protocol is an international agreement that supplements
a previous convention or treaty. A protocol can amend the previous treaty or convention,
or add additional provisions.
Legal systems
Legal systems of States in Asia and the Pacific include:
Common law: Common law legal systems combine laws made by or under the authority
of parliament and laws defined by judges’ decisions. The former British colonies and US
territories still use or are strongly influenced by common law traditions that derive from
English law. Common law jurisdictions include Australia, American Samoa, Bangladesh,
Brunei, Cook Islands, Guam, Fiji, Hong Kong SAR, India, Kiribati, Malaysia, Marshal Islands,
Nepal, New Zealand, Niue, Federated States of Micronesia, Northern Marianna Islands,
Nauru, Pakistan, Palau, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, and
Tonga.
Civil law: Civil law legal systems are derived from continental Europe and rely on codified
collections of legislation. Countries with civil law systems include Cambodia, China,
Indonesia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Viet Nam.
Customary law: Customary law refers to traditional legal systems developed in precolonial
times. Customary law forms a part of the legal systems of most Pacific island
countries and some Asian countries.
Sharia law: Sharia is Islamic religious law that applies to Muslim communities to varying
extents in Afghanistan, Bangladesh (Muslim Personal Law), Brunei, Maldives, Malaysia,
Pakistan, and parts of Indonesia (e.g., Aceh) and the Philippines (Mindanao).
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