Disputatio:Lex

Ius ('law') vs. lex ('statute')

The definitions & examples of these terms have gotten muddled and should someday be reorganized. IacobusAmor (disputatio) 13:27, 8 Octobris 2023 (UTC)

I think the confusion arises especially if your first language is English. In English you can “study law”, but a parliament writes single laws. This confusion however is often absent in other languages, where the word derived from Latin lex usually indicates just single laws. In Latin ius is closer to “all the current laws put together” or “ordinament” or “the state of law”. It also means “right”. Lex instead is a single law. My two cents. --Grufo (disputatio) 14:24, 8 Octobris 2023 (UTC)

Addition. I believe that in theory you can have a ius without leges (e.g. an oral and flexible ordinament without written laws), but you can't have the opposite. --Grufo (disputatio) 14:28, 8 Octobris 2023 (UTC)

Our "Lex" links to English Statute, while our "Ius" links to English Law, and this state of affairs looks OK; however, the Thomist section of "Lex" may be more pertinent to "Ius." IacobusAmor (disputatio) 14:52, 8 Octobris 2023 (UTC)

«The Thomist section of "Lex" may be more pertinent to "Ius."»: Yes and no. It is true that abstract considerations usually pertain more to ius than lex, but first we would need to check what word Thomas Aquinas used, and if he used “lex” we cannot put “ius” into his mouth. And, second, he seems to speak about something that is promulgated, and that is indeed a lex. Nevertheless, the paragraph could still theoretically be moved to our Ius page. --Grufo (disputatio) 15:09, 8 Octobris 2023 (UTC)

I'm leaving it there for now, and the definitions have been made to match those of their English equivalents. IacobusAmor (disputatio) 15:25, 8 Octobris 2023 (UTC)