Substantive Law

Law which governs the original rights and obligations of individuals. Substantive law may derive from the common law, statutes, or a constitution. For example, a claim to recover for breach of contract or negligence or fraud would be a common law substantive right. A state or federal statute giving an employee the right to sue for employment discrimination would also create a substantive right. Additionally, Sibbach v. Wilson (1941) illustrates how courts might approach the question of whether a law is substantive. There, the U.S. Supreme Court, in ruling that an order for a party to undergo a medical examination was a procedural and not a substantive matter, placed weight on the fact that no such substantive right existed in the common law and that no such statute touches on the matter.

What is an example of a substantive law?
Substantive law refers to all categories of public and private law, including the law of contracts, real property, torts, and CRIMINAL LAW. ... For example, criminal law defines certain behavior as illegal and lists the elements the government must prove to convict a person of a crime.

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