The Hierarchy of Law: From Natural Rights to the Constitution, Statutes, Regulations and the UCC

Natural law and unalienable rights

Lawtopolis publishes this discussion for informational and educational purposes, and as an exercise of the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, belief and religion protected by the First Amendment. It sets out what each statute and decision says and what courts have done with it. It is not legal advice and does not recommend any course of action.

This law of nature, being coeval with mankind and dictated by God himself, is of course superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe in all countries, and at all times: no human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this; and such of them as are valid derive all their force, and all their authority, mediately or immediately, from this original.

1 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, Introduction § 2 (1765)

Likewise, the Declaration of Independence draws on the same tradition: people are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,” and governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” In Calder v. Bull, 3 U.S. 386, 388 (1798), Justice Chase wrote that “An ACT of the Legislature (for I cannot call it a law) contrary to the great first principles of the social compact, cannot be considered a rightful exercise of legislative authority.” Today, however, American courts enforce natural-rights principles mainly through the written Constitution and Bill of Rights.

The Constitution, statutes and treaties

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.

U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2

Thus the Constitution sits at the top of written law, and Congress must make statutes “in pursuance thereof.” Meanwhile, treaties and federal statutes rank equally: “a treaty is placed on the same footing, and made of like obligation, with an act of legislation … if the two are inconsistent, the one last in date will control the other” (Whitney v. Robertson, 124 U.S. 190, 194 (1888)). Both, however, rank below the Constitution: “no agreement with a foreign nation can confer power on the Congress, or on any other branch of Government, which is free from the restraints of the Constitution” (Reid v. Covert, 354 U.S. 1, 16 (1957) (plurality)).

Regulations and court rules

Next come federal regulations. Regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations bind only when an agency adopts them under authority Congress delegated and through the required procedures. Since Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024), courts decide for themselves what a statute means and whether an agency stayed within it.

Court rules come after that. The Supreme Court issues the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure and Appellate Procedure under the Rules Enabling Act, which provides that “Such rules shall not abridge, enlarge or modify any substantive right” (28 U.S.C. § 2072(b)).

State law and the UCC

In addition, each state has its own constitution, statutes and regulations, which control unless they conflict with valid federal law. The Uniform Commercial Code is a model law that every state has enacted, with variations, as part of its own statutes; it governs sales of goods, negotiable instruments, bank deposits, secured transactions and investment securities. It is not a separate level above or below state law — it is state law.

Notably, the UCC does not operate on a rule that “silence equals agreement.” Instead, contract law treats silence as acceptance only in narrow situations (Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 69), and UCC § 2-206 concerns how a buyer or seller may accept an offer for goods.

Common law, equity and maxims

Courts develop the common law through precedent, and it fills gaps where statutes are silent. Equity supplies remedies such as injunctions, specific performance and constructive trusts. Maxims summarize equitable principles — “He who comes into equity must come with clean hands,” which the Supreme Court called “far more than a mere banality” in Precision Instrument Mfg. Co. v. Automotive Maintenance Machinery Co., 324 U.S. 806, 814 (1945). Of course, statutes can change the common law, but they cannot override the Constitution.

How to check the hierarchy of law claim yourself

If someone offers you a strategy built on hierarchy of law, ask for the court decisions that accepted it. In the decisions cited on this page, courts did not accept it. Instead, read the real statute or rule the claim cites, and then read how courts have applied it. Also, look at the cases listed above. They show what happens when people raise the argument in court. For a real dispute, talk to a licensed attorney in your state. You can start with our directory.

Sources and further reading

Official sources used on this page:

• law.cornell.edu
• laits.utexas.edu
• law.cornell.edu
• law.cornell.edu
• law.cornell.edu

Related reading on Lawtopolis:

• The Bill of Rights: How It Protects You, Amendment by Amendment
• Delegation of Authority: From the People to Government, and the Nondelegation Doctrine
• The Administrative Procedure Act, the Fifth Amendment and Due Process of Law
• Attorneys as Officers of the Court, "Wards of the Court" and the Organic Laws