CAUSE, LEGAL CAUSE AND PROXIMATE CAUSE

Authors

Albert Levitt, Professor of Law, University of North Dakota

Abstract

Man is a social being; but neither by instinct nor through training does he always express himself so that no one is hurt through his self-expression. Each individual at some time or other acts in such a way that the result of his activity is an injury to himself, to another, or to the social organization of which he is a part. His activities, therefore, need to be watched and controlled. It is the function of the legal ordering of society to exercise such watchfulness and control. The law is a method of social control, and legal principles, concepts, standards and rules ( of which the law is composed) are means by reference to which the control is directed and guided in as uniform a fashion as the varying circumstances of community life make possible. The function of the administrative part of the legal system is to enforce the law in such a way that the purposes of the law are fulfilled and the legal ordering of society is made effective.

Recommended Citation

Albert Levitt, CAUSE, LEGAL CAUSE AND PROXIMATE CAUSE, 21 Mich. L. Rev. 34 (1922).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol21/iss1/3