An examples of moral law

The rules of Chess are an example of positive morality. They are laid down (posited), but a person does not suffer legal consequences if she moves the horsey in the wrong way.

Austin, one of the early positivists, believed that laws properly so called must be laid down by a sovereign with penalties or sanctions imposed for disobedience. He distinguished these from laws improperly so called, which includes laws by metaphor (e.g., laws of physics) and laws by analogy (e.g., law of fashion, or international law).

Austin explained that "The name morality severs them from positive law, while the epithet positive disjoins them from the law of God".