The main difference between legality and legitimacy is that the concept of legitimacy or legitimacy also refers to an ethical and moral consideration. That is, it is a legal concept, but also a moral concept. The three-month postponement of the payment of compensation may be legal, but if the person who is to move in cannot afford to make a living, such an act is clearly illegal. The fact that, by a joint vote of the UGT and the CCOO, all the members of the administrative commission belong to these two unions and do not allow the presence of a representative of the other armed forces may once again be legal, but certainly illegal. It is generally common to confuse the terms legal, legitimate and legal, but we will distinguish them here. Something is legal if it complies with the regulations in force without moral consideration. After all, something is legitimate if it not only conforms to a written law, but also morally accepted. The similarity of the two concepts means that it is often understood that they are the same thing, although the truth is that the definitions of legitimate and legality are different. It is also important to know the difference between government and administration. Let`s take a closer look. The law requires us to abide by the rules set out in the laws and limit what we can and cannot do, whereas an ethical action is a voluntary decision for humans.
We have already seen in the legitimate definition or legal sense that the meanings around this concept are not limited to mere legality. Underneath the concept of legitimacy lies the idea that something is not only legal, but that there is justice and reason in the execution of a particular action. The fact that these excluded trade union forces cannot even be present as listeners to know what issues are being discussed and express their opinions, while they have no decision-making capacity, is, according to the judgment of the National Court, illegal and illegal. You never know if it might be legal again, but it will always be illegal. The illegal is that which violates legality, whether it is the law or the principle of legality itself. But beware, not all illegal acts will be punished criminally. There are acts that violate criminal law, but there can also be acts that violate labour law, civil law, administrative law, etc. However, it may happen that a certain act or behavior is outside the confines of the legal system when we talk about illegality. The law correctly refers to actions or things that the laws consider indifferent and that they would legally declare wrong if they forbade them.
The clearest example of illegal behaviour in our legal system is prostitution. Today, this profession has no kind of regulation, so the people who exercise it cannot be sanctioned (the behavior is not illegal), but they also do not enjoy the protection that other workers have (the behavior is not legal). In the field of law, there are concepts that resemble those of non-experts in the field and can even be confused, but they are not really the same. This happens, for example, with legal and legitimate conditions. However, it must be borne in mind that, no matter how exhaustive a legal system may be, it can never regulate all the issues that may arise in reality. Therefore, there may be acts or behaviors that are not considered legal or illegal. We are then faced with a case of anarchy. The main difference between legal and legitimate is that legality refers to something that is under a concrete reality, while legitimate is something that goes beyond the legal and is directly related within the person. But this definition may be too abstract, so it`s better to look at it from a more practical point of view. Justice and the rule of law are components and principles of the democratic State. Justice refers to the protection of the law and its application without distinction.
Legality implies respect for the law and institutions. The right is rightly stated by the forms, observances, formalities prescribed by positive laws, the non-observance of which may result in the nullity of an act or sanction by the judiciary. A marriage is not legal (it is void) if it is not concluded in front of a certain number of witnesses. Certification from a lower authority is not legal if it is not approved by the higher authority. The importance of legitimacy and legality always go hand in hand. These are two qualities that do not always occur in relation to the same problem. An unlawful act contrary to criminal law is punishable by imprisonment, a fine or other incidental penalties. An act that violates administrative law is usually punishable by an economic fine, while an act that violates labour or civil law is generally punishable by its nullity.
The form determined by law renders the case lawful; the condition prescribed by law or the conformity of the matter with justice and equity renders it legitimate; And the silence of the law makes it tender. We already know that there is a difference between legitimacy and legality, but it is useful to analyze in more detail what is legitimate, what is legal and the legal definition. Everything that is legal tries to guarantee a healthy coexistence, based on the ethical and moral concepts that prevail in each society. In this way, conduct that violates the provisions of the law is classified as illegal and is punishable at the administrative or even criminal level. This difference between legal and ethical makes us understand that it is very possible that something that is permitted by law is ethically inappropriate; that something that the law does not prohibit can be considered ethically reprehensible behaviour. Legality is understood as “must” because it is assumed that acting according to the law, justice is applied, but what really happens is that justice, which is “being”, is what every citizen wants to accomplish through laws and when they see that the state fails, man tries. Not everything that is legal is always legitimate and not everything that is legitimate is always legal. For example, discrimination against certain groups is legal in some countries, but we can conclude that, according to our ethics and morals, it is not legitimate for us. On the contrary, it might seem legitimate to us to convict a criminal who caused the premeditated death of a person for forced labour (it seems fair to us to pay for what he did), but it would not be legal. It is legal what is determined by or in accordance with the law.
For example, it is legal to exercise the right to strike under the conditions provided for by law. In the same way, a distinction is made between illegal, illegitimate and illegal. In addition, a law refers to what requires government approval, but has not been granted or regulated on how to obtain it. Legality is not always illegal and may even be prefectively legal, as the absence of regulation does not always mean a prohibition.
