Definition of Natural Law

#Definition of #Natural_Law
Natural Law is the concept of an unchanging, universally applicable set of laws governing human relationships that provides a moral standard by which to judge the actions of citizens and governments. The principle of jus naturale incorporated in democratic theory limits the powers of government, establishes the concept of natural justice, and propounds the idea of equality of all humankind in a universal society governed by the law of nature.
The theory of natural law was first expounded by early Greek philosophers, then postulated as the main guidepost in the development of a universal society by the Stoics, later modified by the Romans and by Church philosophers during the Middle Ages, and finally brought to flower as the central theme in the eighteenth century natural rights doctrine underlying the ideology of democracy. In the latter case, the concept's transformation from “law” to "rights" reflected the new emphases on individualism, popular sovereignty, and limited government that were embodied in the American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. For the first time, working systems of government based on the democratic principles that recognized the natural and inalienable rights of citizens were established and flourished. The concept of natural law has also been influential in the development of legal, moral, ethical, and religious systems, but its main function has been to serve as a standard for individual and governmental conduct and to limit the powers exercised by the state over the individual.
The ambiguous nature of the natural law concept, however, has made it subject to conflicting interpretations and to challenge by those who reject it as a subjective metaphysical idea. Positivist legal scholars, for example, have challenged the validity of the concept of natural law with their doctrine that law constitutes the sovereign will of the state and therefore can only be promulgated by government.