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Essay / Natural Law Theory in the Kenyan Context
Although there are various jurists under the umbrella of natural law, the focus is on Thomas Aquinas, a classical naturalist. Natural Law, aka true law, is defined as a right reason in accordance with nature which is universal, eternal and immutable and whose validity comes from the Almighty. That is, filtering through the many natural principles used requires reasoning. In fact, law and morality would be integrated. Morality, that is, what is right or wrong, is derived from nature and guides us in determining laws and acting in accordance with them, both on private and public platforms. The logic is to maintain a balance in communities in order to avoid endless chaos resulting from impunity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essay Kenya's supreme law has partially absorbed natural law jurisprudence. From the preamble, it recognizes the supremacy of Almighty God over all creation and is proud of the ethnic, cultural and religious diversity of its subjects. At the very end, it ends with “God bless Kenya.” This undoubtedly brings out natural law. Article 32 presents freedom of conscience, religion, belief and opinion as a right to which every person is entitled and should not be forced to act or engage in anything that is contrary to his beliefs or his religion. No wonder he granted the existence of Kadhi courts. Eternal and divine law is one of the forms of natural law that can come from the sacred books available to humans. Article 11(1) also touches on culture, expressing it as the foundation of the nation and the cumulative civilization of the Kenyan people and nation. Basically, the Constitution does not turn a blind eye to cultural beliefs, because its wording cannot be used to isolate a specific group of people, which would lead to endless conflicts, as outlined in Article 8. Regarding Aquinas's thoughts on natural law, people are able to use their reasoning to make their own choices based on the principle of what the law should be. This mainly occurs in cases where the laws of the book tend to remain silent regarding a conflicting issue, leaving room for guesswork to resolve the issue. In short, the above-mentioned rights are limited in nature as shown in Article 24 but specifically Article 24.2(4) stipulating that any law, including customary law, is considered void if it is inconsistent with the Constitution. However, there are certain rights, such as the right not to participate in inhumane activities, as stipulated in Article 25, which qualify as prerogative rights. The same principle is found in natural law where any man-made law that contradicts the law of reasoning is considered void. Nevertheless, the promulgators of the supreme law are beings governed by their own reasoning and it is not wrong to say that morality is the foundation of the constitution which tends to differ according to one's beliefs. In short, marital unions are part of nature formed by people for the sole purpose of building a house considered as an integral part of society. A house is meant to be a refuge for its residents at all times. And this can be fully realized when there is zero tolerance for inequality between couples, eliminating any possibility of physical, psychological or emotional violence. The Constitution requires that parties to a marriage.