What happens when two laws contradict each other?
Asked by: Dr. Margarette Langworth | Last update: January 24, 2026Score: 4.3/5 (2 votes)
It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases must of necessity expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each.
What if two laws contradict each other?
With respect to conflicts between state and federal law, the Supremacy Clause establishes a different hierarchy: federal law wins regardless of the order of enactment. But this hierarchy matters only if the two laws do indeed contradict each other, such that applying one would require disregarding the other.
What happens when laws conflict?
Grounded in the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, federal preemption stands for the principle that federal law supersedes conflicting state law. Federal preemption is still important, of course, but in recent years, it has been joined in prominence by state preemption.
What happens when a new law contradicts an old law?
If there really is no other way to reconcile them, then the more recent law takes precedence because it's held to have implicitly repealed the old one to the extent of the contradiction.
What is a contradictory law?
noun. Logic. the law that a proposition cannot be both true and false or that a thing cannot both have and not have a given property.
Do God and science contradict each other?
What is the law of dissonance?
The Law of Dissonance states that people will naturally act in a manner that is consistent with their cognitions (beliefs, attitudes, and values). Therefore, when people behave in a manner that is inconsistent with these cognitions, they find themselves in a state of discomfort.
What is an example of the law of contradiction?
In logic, the law of non-contradiction (LNC) (also known as the law of contradiction, principle of non-contradiction (PNC), or the principle of contradiction) states that contradictory propositions cannot both be true in the same sense at the same time, e. g. the two propositions "the house is white" and "the house is ...
What is the court obligated to do when a law contradicts the Constitution?
In this decision, the Chief Justice asserted that the Supreme Court's responsibility to overturn unconstitutional legislation was a necessary consequence of its sworn duty to uphold the Constitution.
Can a law override another law?
The preemption doctrine refers to the idea that a higher authority of law will displace the law of a lower authority of law when the two authorities come into conflict.
Can mistake of law be a defense?
Specifically, mistake of law can be used as a defense in four limited circumstances: When the law has not been published; When the defendant relied upon a law or statute that was later overturned or deemed unconstitutional; When the defendant relied upon a judicial decision that was later overruled; or.
What happens when two statutes conflict?
In most instances, the Legislature will specify that the new statute prevails. This is consistent with one of the canons of statutory construction – a more statute will prevail over an earlier statute when the two statutes conflict.
How do you resolve conflict with in laws?
- Communicate With Your Partner.
- Avoid Sensitive Topics.
- Establish Boundaries.
- Don't Take Things Personally.
- Accept Your In-Laws As They Are.
- Be Thankful for the Good Moments.
- Spend Time With Them.
- Find Common Ground.
What is the choice of law nexus?
Typically, but not always, the choice of law will be that of a state in which one of the parties resides or has their principal place of business. At a minimum, the chosen controlling state must have some nexus, or connection, with the parties or the contract's subject matter.
What does the Constitution say about conflicting laws?
The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution of the United States (Article VI, Clause 2) establishes that the Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties made under its authority, constitute the "supreme Law of the Land", and thus take priority over any conflicting state laws.
What is it called when two things contradict each other?
A paradox is a rhetorical device or a self-contradictory statement that can actually be true. While an oxymoron is a figure of speech that pairs two opposing words. The key to easily spotting the difference is to focus on the meanings of the words themselves.
What are the three laws of contradiction?
(1) For all propositions p, it is impossible for both p and not p to be true, or: ∼(p · ∼p), in which ∼ means “not” and · means “and.” (2) Either p or ∼p must be true, there being no third or middle true proposition between them, or: p ∨ ∼p, in which ∨ means “or.” (3) If a propositional function F is true of an ...
What laws Cannot be changed?
Since the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, it cannot be changed by any process except for another amendment. Amending the Constitution is the most difficult and permanent way of changing laws in the United States. It is also the most significant.
Who overrides laws?
The President, however, can influence and shape legislation by a threat of a veto. By threatening a veto, the President can persuade legislators to alter the content of the bill to be more acceptable to the President. Congress can override a veto by passing the act by a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate.
Which type of law supersedes all other laws?
The Supremacy Clause refers to the foundational principle that, in general, federal law takes precedence over any conflicting state law.
Can I sue the government for violating my constitutional rights?
Section 1983, which is short for 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, gives people the right to sue state government officials and employees who violate their constitutional rights.
Is there a law that has never been broken?
Laws that are created by our legislative bodies have always been broken. Only particular laws of nature that are considered constants are unbroken under the particular constraints imposed by nature.
What is an example of a contradictory law?
There are laws that contradict each other in the sense of giving different results, but not both being applicable at the same time. For example, something might be legal in one state and illegal in another. It's contradictory as to the legality of the thing, but not contradictory in geographic scope.
What is the rule of contradictory?
The law of contradiction means that two antithetical propositions cannot both be true at the same time and in the same sense. X cannot be non-X. A thing cannot be and not be simultaneously. And nothing that is true can be self-contradictory or inconsistent with any other truth.
Can two contradictory things be true?
Dialetheism (/daɪəˈlɛθiɪzəm/; from Greek δι- di- 'twice' and ἀλήθεια alḗtheia 'truth') is the view that there are statements that are both true and false. More precisely, it is the belief that there can be a true statement whose negation is also true.