Law and morality can be understood as concepts, but any attempt made to define them becomes difficult.
Laws are concerned with legal rights and duties which are protected and enforced by the State. They are backed by sanction, and therefore if one disobeys the laws of the State, they are liable to be punished. Morality categorizes human behavior as good or bad. The cannons of morality however are based on moral duties and obligations.
If one does not adhere to the standards of morality that is prescribed, he cannot be held legally liable. However, morality involves incentives of sorts. When we do the right thing, we experience virtue and enjoy praise and when we do the wrong thing, we suffer guilt and disapprobation. Both, law and morality channel human behavior.2 While morality is concerned with regulating both the internal and external conduct of men, law is concerned only with regulating the external affairs of men. Time and again, we have been perturbed by the connection that exists between law and morality.
While it can be said that, law brings within itself some reflection of public morality, it is also true that certain things may not be illegal according to law, but maybe unacceptable to morality. Therefore, we are often intrigued with questions about whether or not morality should be enforced by law or whether laws would still be binding if they do not reflect moral principles or whether it is morally justified disobeying bad laws?
