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positive law

American  

noun

  1. customary law or law enacted by governmental authority (as distinguished fromnatural law ).


Etymology

Origin of positive law

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"Natural" means without the enforcement of positive law, man-made law.

From New York Times • Jan. 12, 2015

“Freedom Riders” implicitly and ably conveys the powerlessness of positive law in the face of a toxic cultural emotionalism.

From New York Times • May 15, 2011

If valid, they place all persons within their reach under the obligation of positive law, binding equally those who assent and those who do not assent.

From Time Magazine Archive

The right of the master exists not by force of the law of nature or nations, but by virtue only of the positive law of the State.”

From The Impending Crisis of the South How to Meet It by Helper, Hinton Rowan

Nevertheless, the opinion is very prevalent among lawyers that purely positive law in the United States is not intended to oblige under sin.

From Moral Theology A Complete Course Based on St. Thomas Aquinas and the Best Modern Authorities by Callan, Charles Jerome