T H E O L O G O S - Prešovská univerzita v Prešove

Piotr Kroczek
4 Some Components of Authority of Law
Authority of canon law consists of many components. Some of them
are typical and common with secular law. Some others are typical for law
of the Church. The most important will now be listed and shortly described.
a. Legal Culture
Culture could be defined as a whole of material and spiritual achievements
of human kind, and also as shared beliefs, values, customs,
practices, and social behavior of a group of people especially transferred
and passed along to next generations 15 . It is clear that law as a product of
human beings 16 is a significant part of culture. Legal norms are manifestation
of human civilization and written law is a monument of intellectual
achievement.
The term legal culture is widely recognized as useful phrase to label
the complex attitude of members of a society to law in general 17 . The
development of legal culture means better undersigning and bigger
appreciation of law in the social order. This stand translates into the rise
of awareness of significance of law and its functions. If law is more respected,
the authority of law is higher 18 . Exactly the same process can be
noticed in the Church. The higher the culture of canonical law is the better
position law has in community 19 .
b. Legal Awareness
Legal culture in acts and behaviors of persons translates into legal
awareness. Legal awareness is shaped by two factors: knowledge of law
and its positive evaluation 20 . This leads to an understanding that law is a
useful tool, which plays an important part in life. When members of the
society are aware of legal dimension of their life, they do not treat law as
15
Cf. Entry: Culture, [in:] Webster’s New World Dictionary, V. Neufeldt, ed. in chief, 3 rd
college ed., New York 1994, p. 337.
16
With certain provision, that Divine law was not made by man but just discovered.
17
R. SOBAŃSKI, Kultura prawna Europy, [in:] Europa. Drogi integracji, ed. A. Dylus,
Warszawa 1999, p. 73-84; R. TOKARCZYK, Kultura prawa europejskiego, Studia Europejskie
1 (2000), p. 11 – 26.
18
K. OPAŁEK, Zagadnienia teorii prawa i teorii polityki, Warszawa 1986, p. 273-296.
19
R. SOBAŃSKI, Prawo kanoniczne a kultura prawna, Prawo Kanoniczne 35 (1992), no
1-2, p. 31.
20
A. PIENIĄŻEK, M. STEFANIUK, Socjologia prawa. Zarys wykładu, Kraków 2002, p. 183;
see more about the model of developing legal awareness, p. 185-189.
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