In any legal system, rules are established that have to be complied with. This implies that there are obligations that must necessarily be respected by individuals or legal subjects. Consequently, in the field of law there is the concept of legal duty and it consists of the imposition of obligations or duties.
Regardless of the legal context, the term duty refers to everything that is considered an obligation. On many occasions, duties are not related to personal wishes, but to what is considered appropriate and convenient. The idea of legal duty has two dimensions, one associated with law and the other with philosophy.
A basic element in the structure of legal norms
This concept is embodied in each of the established standards. In this way, a specific prohibition implies the idea of legal duty.
The behavior of individuals within the framework of the law must be subject to legal duty. In this sense, there is an objective nature of the rules, which have the purpose of protecting the interests of the community.
For a norm or rule to have a legal value it is necessary that it incorporate some type of legal coercion
In other words, there is a legal duty as long as the breach of a rule is accompanied by some kind of coercion or punishment.
If an individual commits an action that is illegal or contrary to the law, he is acting against legal duty. Suppose that a person does not fulfill a rental contract because he does not pay the monthly payment to the owner. In this case, the legal duty refers to the obligation of that person to comply with what is established in the contract.
Respect for the law from the Kantian point of view
Respect for legal norms carries a certain moral sense. The philosopher of the Enlightenment Inmanuel Kant stated that legal duty is the need to comply with a certain action because the law is respected.
In other words, we should not comply with a legal norm because we agree with it, but because we have a moral sense that obliges us to respect the laws in general.
For Kant, legal duty and respect for the law are closely linked concepts. It must be taken into account that in Kantian thought, morality is inspired by personal self-conviction, that is, in the autonomy of the individual.
Consequently, respect for the law should not be based on fear of possible punishment, but on moral duty. When the moral duty is transferred to the field of law, it becomes a legal duty.
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