Law is a system of rules that form a framework to ensure a peaceful society. These laws are enforced by a controlling authority, often through sanctions that may include fines or imprisonment. The word “law” derives from the Latin phrase lege, meaning “order.” Law aims to keep individuals within certain boundaries that are set by the community in order to prevent disorder and chaos.
Different nations have their own legal systems, which depend on a variety of factors such as culture, history and language. For example, the United States uses a common law system in which decisions of judges are collected into a legal document called case law. In contrast, countries such as Japan use a civil law system that includes written statutes and codes.
The different types of law cover a wide variety of topics. Contract law deals with the creation and enforcement of agreements between people, including contracts for goods, services, work or money. Property law covers a person’s rights and duties toward tangible things such as land, buildings or vehicles. In addition, personal property can also include movable possessions such as cars, books and jewellery or intangible items such as bank accounts or shares of stock.
Other branches of law include administrative law, which governs how government agencies operate and are managed; constitutional law, which deals with the foundations of a nation’s legal system; criminal law, which covers crimes such as murder; international law, which addresses the rights of foreign citizens and citizens of a state; and environmental law, which concerns issues such as the protection of the earth’s resources and the conservation of natural resources.
Legal theorists have a number of different theories about what constitutes law. For example, social psychologist Roscoe Pound created a law definition that includes the following points: Law is an instrument of social control; it satisfies social wants by coercion; and it is based on tradition, technique and morality.
Another approach to law is to define it as a ‘normative science’, which describes what must happen if there is to be peace and cooperation between humans. However, Hans Kelsen developed a different view of the role of law by saying that it is not a scientific concept and that ‘custom precedes legislation’.
Laws are enacted by the public through legislative bodies, such as parliaments, and enforced by courts, which act as an independent and impartial branch of government. They can cover a wide range of subjects, from how much capital banks must have to how to conduct medical procedures. They can also include the rules of evidence, such as which materials are admissible in a court of law. They can even regulate the provision of utilities such as energy, water and telecommunications. In addition, they can deal with the right to freedom of speech and assembly, which is guaranteed by the constitutions of many countries. In the US, this is embodied in the First Amendment to the Constitution. In the UK, these provisions are known as the Bill of Rights.