CLASSIFICATION OF LAW IN TANZANIA

CLASSIFICATION OF LAW IN TANZANIA

Law can be classified in many ways which depends on the perspective, use or the system concerned. Some of the famous classification of the law is as explained herein below:-

(i) Positive Law and Natural Law
Law is a social rule posted by human beings to regulate in a general and binding manner the social behaviour of human beings as social beings in a given society.
Characteristics of Positive Law
(a) Command
(b) Sovereign authority
(c) Punishment
(d) Sanctions
Natural Law-Law is God given, it is inherent and immutable.

(ii) Common Law and Civil Law( as system of law)
This classification is based on looking at the law as a legal system of a particular country. Today in the world there are two major systems of law, which are named as common law and civil law. Common law is mostly practised by common law countries, i.e. the countries that were rules by Britain or are part and parcel of the common wealth of nations, whereas the civil law or continental law is a system of law that is mostly used by countries which were rules by French or what we call francophone states.

(iii) Public Law and Private Law
Public law-administrative law- the law that regulated the conduct of administrative actions
Private Law-torts, contracts. This is the law that regulates the relationship of the individuals.
(iv) Substantive Law and Procedural law (civil and criminal law)
Substantive law- refers to portions of a country’s legal system which defines the contents of legal norms or determines the legal subject’s rights and duties.
Procedural Law- refers to a country’s law of procedure or the means by which substantive norms are enforced.

(v) Common law and Equity
Common law comprises of the body of rules which were developed by the common law courts of England. Equity- is a form of law developed by the court of chancery in England as a supplementary system to cure the mischief of common law.
Classification by application/usage
In terms of application, the law may be categorised into two groups, that is :-
(a) Criminal law (b) Civil law

(a) Civil Law
To make it easy, civil law is all law other than criminal law, such as property law, which governs transfer and ownership of property, and contract law, which is the law of personal agreements; When a person has a grievance and it can’t be settled any other way, than an action has to be taken were the courts will settle the differences. This type of law is called a tort law and it’s a civil action in which an individual asks to be compensated for personal harm done to him or her. The harm may be either physical or mental and includes such wrongful acts as trespassing, assault and battery, invasion of privacy, libel (false and injurious writings against you), and last but not least, slander (false or injurious writings).
Torts happen when someone is injured by the actions of another. Remember O.J. Simpson, who was found “not guilty” during his criminal trial, but was found “guilty” during his civil trial? This discrepancy happens because the standard of evidence for a finding is less in civil cases. Criminal trials are based on the evidence of “beyond a reasonable doubt”, while for a civil case the evidence has only to prove the “preponderance of the evidence/probability.
A violation of civil law may also happen when a behavior indirectly causes injury that starts a chain of events that end in d--th. Some torts are similar to criminal acts and that is why a person can be held on both counts. For example, if one man hits another in the mouth, it is possible for the assailant to be charged by the state with assault and battery, be imprisoned, plus be sued by the victim in a tort action of assault in which the attacker will have to pay the victim for the damages he caused. An important similarity between criminal law and civil law is they have a common purpose, and this is to control people’s behavior by setting limits on what acts are permissible in this country.

(b) Criminal Law
A body of rules and statutes that defines conduct prohibited by the government because it threatens and harms public safety and welfare and that establishes punishment to be imposed for the commission of such acts.
The term criminal law generally refers to substantive criminal laws. Substantive criminal laws define crimes and may establish punishments. In contrast, Criminal Procedure describes the process through which the criminal laws are enforced. For example, the law prohibiting murder is a substantive criminal law. The manner in which government enforces this substantive law—through the gathering of evidence and prosecution—is generally considered a procedural matter.
Crimes are usually categorized as felonies or misdemeanors based on their nature and the maximum punishment that can be imposed. A felony involves serious misconduct that is punishable by death or by imprisonment for more than one year. Most state criminal laws subdivide felonies into different classes with varying degrees of punishment. However, the words felony and misdemeanor are no longer used in Tanzania context, all crimes are termed crimes. Crimes that do not amount to felonies are misdemeanors or violations. A misdemeanor is misconduct for which the law prescribes punishment of no more than one year in prison. Lesser offenses, such as traffic and parking infractions, are often called violations and are considered a part of criminal law.
Criminal law requires either of the following:-
(a) Intent
(b) Malice
(c) Motives
The general principle here is “ actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea” again the one who alleges must prove the allegations and ignorance of the law never excuses “ignorantia juris non excusant”
The main purpose of criminal law is to give the state the power to protect the public from harm by punishing individuals whose actions threaten the social order of things. In tort law, the harm or injury is considered a private wrong, and the main concern is to compensate the victim for the harm that was inflicted on them. For criminal actions, the state initiates the legal proceedings by bringing charges against the criminal, then prosecuting him or her.
Once it is determined that a criminal law was broken, the state will then proceed to impose a sentence against the defendant such as imprisonment, probation, or a fine, payable to the state.
In civil actions, the injured person must file an action in order to initiate proceedings, if the offender is found guilty, then he or she must pay restitution to the person that was harmed. 

Summary on the Nature and Characteristics of Law
Legal norms are enforceable.
Legal norms regulate human conduct in that they are guides to human behaviour.
Characteristics of legal norms
(i) Uniformity
(ii) Law is hypothetical or relative
(iii) Law is of general nature
(iv) Law entails the element of authority
(v) Regulated coercion