I recently came across an issue from the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy entitled “Law vs. Public Policy: A Critical Exploration” by Theodore J. Lowi¹. In this issue, Lowi discusses a very interesting history between law and public policy and uses this seniority to explain the superiority of one over the other. Historically, law has a much more rooted history in American governmental institutions than the concept of public policy. Law and legislation themself were explicitly enumerated throughout the U.S. Constitution, with its duties separated throughout the three (3) branches of the government we all know. However, Lowi introduces that public policy is actually a word unique to the English dictionary, with no other country being able to create a translation in their language that mirrors the exact concept. Public policy had only been introduced in the 19th century when political scientists officially coined the term to define the public’s opinion. The definition slightly evolves, as it is now a reference to how governmental policies change as a result of the public’s opinion. If a law is meant to administrate and public policy is supposed to serve the public’s opinion, how do they manage to get intertwined? 

The misconception, as Lowi explains, is due to political scientists defining policy as administrative law in later years. Regardless, public policy and law differs in their nature and validity. Public policy is a strategic direction made by the government towards a certain public issue, meaning that it is not legally binding and prone to change with events and public opinions. It is created by government officials of all branches and all levels while still limited to their own jurisdictions. On the other hand, laws themself are set in stone and legally binding and go through the tedious bill process. It can be concluded that public policies are decisions made by the government and extremely flexible, and laws are rules that both the government and individuals must abide by. To put this into perspective, consider this: a public policy may be guided towards making traffic safe in front of a new elementary school, while a law may be that you must stop your vehicle when a school bus stops. Both deal with the idea of traffic, but public policy is a response to the new elementary school, and involves law by achieving their policy goal through enforcement of the afore-mentioned bus law. Though the two are similar in nature and often used interchangeably to enforce justice and accommodate the people, public policies are still based on laws and should fall under basic law institutions.