What a great article. I am currently preparing an academic essay on ethical practice in real estate (in New Zealand). In this industry, there are a number of issues that are legal, but certainly anything but ethical. On the contrary, there are sometimes actions that I would consider preferable from an ethical point of view, but not really legal. Take, for example, Snyder v. Phelps. Members of Westboro Baptist Church protested the funeral of U.S. Marine Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq. Church members protested at the funeral, condemning both the deceased and his father, Albert Snyder, for raising his Catholic child. Snyder sued the church for defamation, invasion of privacy and emotional distress.
Westboro Baptists said they invoked their right to free speech and complied with all local picket orders. Snyder initially received millions of dollars in damages, but the Supreme Court eventually overturned the case and ruled in favor of Westboro Baptist on the grounds that free speech was protected by the First Amendment. Although law often embodies ethical principles, law and ethics are far from being juxtaposed. The law does not prohibit many actions that would be widely condemned as unethical. And the opposite is true. The law also prohibits actions that certain groups perceive as ethical. For example, it is not illegal to lie or betray a friend`s trust, but most people would consider it unethical. However, speeding is illegal, but many people have no ethical conflict with exceeding the speed limit. Law is more than just the codification of ethical norms. One way to see that laws and ethics are not the same thing is to find examples of cases where an action is legal but immoral. Or illegal, but morally just. If we could find such cases, we would of course know that the two categories cannot mean the same thing; We would also know that one cannot be completely contained within the other, like concentric circles.
Instead, we would know that the law of morality is like two intersecting circles. Then you would have an area where they overlap, and that would be actions that are both legal and morally right. They would also have an area of actions that are legal but immoral; and, finally, an area that includes illegal but morally just actions. False (left) and right relationship between laws and moral rules. Imagine if an illegal organization copied the copyright mark and logo of bottled water and textile and clothing designs. What do you think would be the negative consequences and possible dangers for workers, consumers and the environment? 3. Have you ever been in a situation where you were doing something legally permissible, but ethically questionable, or vice versa? As a journalist, it was Hannan`s duty to uncover the truth and provide a fair and complete account of the story. From Hannan`s perspective, Dr. V`s secret gender identity was closely tied to her fabricated academic and professional history. Ultimately, the invention of the putter became the background to his story, which Hannan framed around what he saw as Dr.
V`s life of deception. On the other hand, Dr. V. had insisted from the beginning on his privacy and did not want the story published. A few months before publication, Dr. V. committed suicide. The author and the website had the right to publish what they did. Neither Hannan nor Grantland are legally responsible for Dr.
V.`s decision to end their lives because of the publication. But having the legal right to do something is not the same as fulfilling one`s ethical responsibilities as a professional. Grantland acknowledged that its publishers had difficulty deciding whether or not to publish the article. And the site apologized for not consulting members of the trans community before the story was published. Therefore, in today`s diverse business environment, it must be kept in mind that law and ethics are not necessarily the same thing. Here, cultural values and regulatory compliance on a global scale can lead to a different mix between what is legal and what is ethical, as might be the case with legal/ethical acceptance to facilitate payments (“bold”). In the United States, they are legal under the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (FCPA). In the UK, they are illegal under the UK`s Bribery Act. The ethical question is whether a company is making a payment [of bribes] to lubricate the wheels because it is legal, whether right or wrong, to pay someone to do something they should be doing anyway? Legal and ethical norms are rules and principles that people in the same society are familiar with. For example, if you live in the United States, you will be familiar with the laws of the country. You will also learn about the ethical standards of American society. […] Ethics and law.
As should be obvious, ethics and law are not identical. What is legal is not always ethical and vice versa. A code of ethics usually tries to bridge the gap: you tell employees what […] At the district court level, Albert Snyder received a total of $5 million in damages, but the Fourth District later overturned that ruling. It was then appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld the Fourth District`s decision that Westboro Baptist Church was within its First Amendment free speech rights. The main message of their signs referred to their general public message and not to a specific person, even if it was hurtful. “As this nation has chosen to protect even hurtful statements on public matters to ensure that public debate is not stifled, Westboro must be protected from liability for its pickets in this matter.” What about the case of Christoph Meili – a UBS security guard who discovered (while on duty) that the company was shredding evidence of ownership of property stolen from Jews during the Nazi era? He simply took something from the newspaper – which could be considered illegal (theft).