"The primary function of the government is - and here I am quoting directly from the U.S. Constitution - "to spew out paper."

 

Dave Barry

"Engineering seeks continual improvement in the solution of problems; the compass of engineering is perfection."

 

 


 

THE IDEAL LAW OF GOVERNMENT

 

The challenge for the engineering discipline of laws is to design new laws that approximate the “ideal law.”  The high level of popularity of democratic governments is due to the fact that democracies strive to serve the best interests of the people as a whole and reflect their highest aspirations under the rule of law.

 

The problem with the rule of law is that it is wholly dependent upon the quality of laws.  That is, if the laws of a government are mediocre or ineffective, i.e., of low quality, then the government that enforces those laws must also be mediocre or ineffective. 

 

To meet their obligations to the people, therefore, democracies must create laws of the highest possible quality.  For this reason it is important to define the “ideal law” as the paragon for the design and operation of laws of democratic governments. 

 

The ideal law has the following characteristics:

 

  • It Is Simply Stated And Has A Clear Meaning.  It is imperative, if the high purpose of democracy is to be achieved, that those individuals who enforce and interpret the law and those who are subject to the law should readily understand both the letter and the intent of the law.  For these reasons the ideal law is succinct and its meaning is clear.

 

  • It Is Completely Successful In Achieving Its Objective.  Every law in a democracy has a problem-solving purpose, or objective, that serves the best interests of the people as a whole.  The ideal law is completely successful in attaining its objective.

 

  • It Interacts Synergistically With Other Laws. Laws often have an effect upon, and are affected by, other laws.  The ideal law is designed so that its interaction with other laws is synergistic in the attainment of its problem-solving objective.

 

  • It Produces No Harmful Side Effects. All human-made products, including laws, have unintended side effects that may be beneficial, neutral, or detrimental.  A law that accomplishes its problem-solving goal is not acceptable if its unintended side effects degrade the established living standards or quality of life of the people, or infringe upon human rights. Therefore, the ideal law, by definition, produces no detrimental side effects upon the human rights, living standards, or quality of life of the people.

 

  • It Optimally Serves The Purpose Of Democracy.  The ideal law imposes the least possible costs and other burdens upon the people so that the maximum positive net benefit of its enforcement is attained.

 

The aforementioned characteristics of the ideal law can only be attained through the application of quality programs for laws. 

 

Quality design standards are essential for the creation of an ideal law, quality assurance is needed to confirm that design objectives have been met, and a quality improvement program is needed to maintain the high levels of performance of the law in a dynamic environment.  The ideal law is an elegant solution; it solves societal problems effectively in a user-friendly manner with minimum burdens on the people.

  

Click here to learn why Science is critical to the improvement of laws.