Differences Between Law and Ethics

1. Ethics are rules of conduct. Laws are rules developed by governments in order to provide balance in society and protection to its citizens.
2. Ethics comes from people’s awareness of what is right and wrong.  Laws are enforced by governments to its people.
3. Ethics are moral codes which every person must conform to. Laws are codifications of ethics meant to regulate society.
4. Ethics does not carry any punishment to anyone who violates it.  The law will punish anyone who happens to violate it.
5. Ethics comes from within a person’s moral values.  Laws are made with ethics as a guiding principle.

6. Laws are the regulations established, and usually written, by a governing power. Ethics are the morals of a culture, and often times, they inform the laws that are made.

7.While you may obey the law, you might not always act ethically. It would be a rare case for something to be ethical, but against the law.

8. While violations of the law are punishable, the same does not hold good for ethics. In ethics, everything depends on the person’s conscience and self-worth. For instance, driving carefully and within the speed limit because you don’t want to hurt someone is ethical, but if you drive slowly because you see a police car behind you, this suggests your fear of breaking the law and being punished for it.

9. Ethics comes from within a person’s moral sense and desire to preserve his self-respect. Laws are codifications of certain ethical values meant to help regulate society, and punishments for breaking them can be harsh and sometimes even break ethical standards.