Sources of law

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Sources of law are the origins of laws, the binding rules that enable any state to govern its territory. The terminology was already used in Rome by Cicero as a metaphor referring to the "fountain" ("fons" in Latin) of law. Technically, anything that can create, change, or cancel any right or law is considered a source of law.^[1]

The term "source of law" may sometimes refer to the sovereign or to the seat of power from which the law derives its validity.^[2]

Legal theory usually classifies them into formal and material sources, although this classification is not always used consistently. Normally, formal sources are connected with what creates the law: statutes, case law, contracts, and so on. In contrast, material sources refer to the places where formal law can be found, such as the official bulletin or gazette where the legislator publishes the country's laws, newspapers, and public deeds.^[1]

Under a more philosophical approach, Riofrio adds two new generes of sources of law. On one hand, there are those related to the ends of law (final sources), such as the legal ends, values, and principles of law, often included in the constitution and human rights treaties. On the other hand, there are the "efficient sources of law" (or "agent sources") that produce the law or create specific rights and duties: legal facts, human will (of the legislator or of the parties), and legal conceptions. Part of the latter is cultural law (e.g., traditions, customs, praxis, etc.), which plays an important role as one of the principal sources of law.^[1]