LEGAL CONCEPTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Legal concepts are equally important as ethics concepts in forming a framework for practice in
health care settings.

Definition of Law is that it concerns rules and regulations by which a society is governed.

Law can be defined as those rules made by humans who regulated social conduct in a
formally prescribed and legally binding manner. Laws are based upon concerns for fairness and
justice.

Functions of Law in Nursing

The law serves a number of functions in nursing:

- It provides a framework for establishing which nursing actions in the care of client are legal.

- It differentiates the nurse's responsibilities from those of other health professional.

- It helps establish the boundaries of independent nursing action.

- It assists in maintaining a standard of nursing practice by making nurses accountable under

the law.

Sources of Law

The most basic source of law is constitutional law, which is a system of fundamental laws or
principles for the governance of a nation, society, or other aggregate of individuals.

Statutory laws are those rules and regulations enacted by the legislative branch of the
government. Nurses are usually familiar with this source of law because the nurse practice act is
an example of statutory law.

Administrative laws are enacted through the decisions and rules of administrative agencies,
which are specific governing bodies charged with implementing selected legislation. When
statutory laws are enacted, administrative agencies are given the authority to implement the
specific intentions of the statutes, creating rules and regulations that enforce the statutory law.
Boards of nursing are examples of administrative law agencies.

Judicial laws are created by courts of law, interpreting legal issues that are in dispute.

All laws, regardless of origin, are subject to change. Constitutional laws may be amended;
statutory laws may be amended, repealed, or expanded; administrative agencies may be
dissolved, expanded, or redefined; and judicial laws may be modified or completely altered by
subsequent court decisions.
An example of statutory and administrative law is the state nurse practice act.