Difference between norms and laws

While the norm is the general rule, by which the principles of moral conduct and legally accepted before society are governed. The law is the written, formalized and detailed norm that protects the faculty of an individual and obliges in the strict sense to be complied with. 

One of the main differences between law and norm is found in the level of obligatory nature with which the different subjects that form part of the population have to follow them.

In the case of the norm, the fact that it is obligatory or not will depend on its type and on the evaluation made by it of who is to follow it. The norm in itself only marks the expected behavior, but its breaking does not imply incurring in crime (although it can have consequences) unless we are talking about a legal norm.

In the case of the law and other types of legal norms, compliance is mandatory, resulting in a breach of a fault or crime and generating the application of a penalty.