Both “legal” and “ethical” are often used in the same context in terms of issues and social situations; both words can be applied in almost any situation, private or public, even in the realm of professions.“Legal” is an adjective and a noun used to describe anything that concerns the law or its workings. Just because something is legal doesn't make it moral or honest. However, what is ethical and what is not is a subjective matter and it is hard to find everyone agreeing on what is considered unethical by some.While all businesses work to earn more profits for the shareholders, there are some who engage in unethical actions to earn higher profits. Thus, while abortion may be legal, it is believed to be not ethical by many people. This article explains the difference between legal and ethical to remove some of the confusion people remain to have between legal and ethical and cannot make the right choice. and updated on September 21, 2017 Written by : Celine. “Legal” as a noun is also observed in the word “paralegal” and as a label for people who are represented as legitimate or sanctioned by implementation in a given set of rules and regulations.On the other hand, “ethical” is also an adjective as well as a noun, and is used in association with the word “ethics.” The word came from the Middle English “etik,” which in turn came from the Latin “eticus” and the earlier Greek “ethikos.” It was created formally as a word in 1588. They often clash and work with each other. In order to understand the difference between something being 'illegal' or being 'unethical', we have to understand what these terms mean. “Legal” and “ethical” are often used in the same sentence. Another distinction between the two concepts is that they do not necessarily always come hand in hand.

The principles of morals constitute ethics and thus what is moral is what ethical is. They often clash and work with each other. Ethical is what is morally right though it may be legal or illegal. Laws are made and amended by the elected representatives of the people inside the legislature and upon passage in the parliament and getting approval from the highest authority become necessary to be followed by the people of the country.

Law is a framework of rules and regulations that are meant to maintain peace and order in a society. A legal act is an act that meets the terms of rules and regulations of a particular but massive and collective entity, like a society or a country. There is judiciary to take care of the violations of laws of the country and law enforcement authorities to see that these laws are followed by the people. Yet, at the same time, any single person who may be (or was considered) primarily responsible for its content has no ethical responsibility to make any claim of responsibility for it. Contact the source for any required permissions you may need to do so. Legal Law is a framework of rules and regulations that are meant to maintain peace and order in a society. On the other hand, there are still companies that refuse to budge on moral grounds, and they follow ethical principles all the time even if they have to remain content with lesser profits.• Ethical is more subjective than legal that is objective in nature.• Ethical is social responsibility whereas legal is not a responsibility but a deterrent.• Something unethical for someone may be ethical for others, whereas everyone has to follow what is legal.• There is punishment for violation of laws, whereas there is no punishment for violation of ethics though unethical behavior may be looked down upon by the society.Coming from Engineering cum Human Resource Development background, has over 10 years experience in content developmet and management.Difference Between Business Ethics and Personal Ethics Though there is a relationship between the two, the concepts are not interchangeable. However, in many religions, killing a fetus is just as criminal as killing a human being and it is considered immoral to abort a fetus. Though there is a relationship between the two, the concepts are not interchangeable. “Legal” is a term derived from the word “law.” It originated from the Anglo-French “legalis,” which stems from the Latin “lex,” meaning “law.” It was first used as a word in 1562.Related forms of “legal” include a bunch of other adjectives like post legal, pre-legal, pseudo-legal, quasi-legal, and as an adverb – legally. In many countries, abortion has been declared legal, and it is the right of a woman to decide whether to go for abortion for not.

Differentiate between ethical and legal behavior To Hire or Not to Hire Smokers—That Is the Question at American Express American Express, a financial services company, found that smokers were costing the company $5,000–$6,000 more per year than nonsmokers.