John Locke . These questions are raised and their answers attempted with a simple but philosophically significant proposition in mind that what cannot be law cannot masquerade as a law by a mere fact that it was enacted by the law-makers.
Statutes are a source of law.
Therefore, a statute ought to have all the attributes of law. For these questions a utilitarian position is taken for the protection of individual freedom. However, the utilitarian position should be taken in its relation to the means which a statute uses, for example, criminal punishment, civil remedies, administrative regulation, etc. The next requirement for the law-makers is to follow that the positive law provides. And a legal decision including a legislative decision is not identical with a scientific decision.