What Is Law?
Law is a system of rules regulating the activities of people and societies. It establishes a framework for people to live together peacefully and to deal with each other in business and private affairs. It also punishes people who break the rules, such as by imposing fines and imprisonment.
A number of different definitions for law have been proposed, and there is considerable debate about the nature of law. However, most scholars agree that law is a set of rules that a society recognizes as governing its members and activities. It is enforced by courts and police and provides a basis for peaceful coexistence. It also prevents social injustice and protects people’s rights and freedoms.
Law may take the form of statutes, treaties, executive regulations or judicial decisions. In common law systems, the decisions of judges are explicitly recognized as part of the legal system, on equal footing with legislative statutes and executive regulations. This is known as the doctrine of precedent, or stare decisis. It is intended to ensure that the results of similar cases reach comparable outcomes, regardless of which judge decides the case. This contrasts with civil law systems, in which legislative statutes are the primary source of law and judicial decisions are confined to narrow, specific applications of the law.
In all societies, differences of opinion can lead to conflicts, and the law provides a way to resolve these conflicts peacefully. In particular, it allows people to dispute ownership of property without resorting to violence. For example, if two people each claim a piece of land, the court can decide who owns it. In addition, the law can regulate public affairs to protect citizens from abuses of power by governments or police, and ensure that they respect individual rights.
Despite the importance of laws, they are often difficult to define and understand. The development of law has been shaped by many factors, including the felt needs of the time, the prevalent moral and political theories, and even the prejudices of judges. It is therefore not a subject that can be dealt with in the same way as a discipline like mathematics, where a precise definition exists.
The most important function of law is to serve the social purposes of the society that creates it. This is why it is called a “social instrument”: it helps to shape the society in which it operates. For more on this topic, see legal ethics and the articles on legal profession, legal training and legal history. It is also considered to be a vital tool for social control, and for this purpose it is referred to as a “coercive instrument”. See the articles on the rule of law, criminal law, and the legal system for more information.