A legal norm is a binding rule or principle, or norm, that organizations of sovereign power promulgate and enforce in order to regulate social relations. Legal norms determine the rights and duties of individuals who are the subjects of legal relations within the governing jurisdiction at a given point in time. Some theorists, such as Stephen Krasner, define norms as “standards of behavior defined in terms of rights and obligations.” Competent state authorities issue and publish basic aspects of legal norms through a collection of laws that individuals under that government must abide by, which is further guaranteed by state coercion. There are two categories of legal norms: normativity, which regulates the conduct of people, and generality, which is binding on an indefinite number of people and cases. Diplomatic and legislative immunity refers to instances where legal norms are constructed to be targeted towards a minority and are specifically only binding on them, such as soldiers and public officials.
In a legal sense, retroactivity refers to a law that impairs or invalidates the vested rights of an individual acquired under existing laws by creating new obligations to considerations that have been pre-established. Legal norms can either classify under true retroactivity, where norms influence the legal relations that have existed before its effect, or pseudo retroactivity, referring to how the validity of old legal relations can be influenced by derogated norms.
