Law is a set of rules that governs behavior and enforces standards in society. The principal functions of law are establishing standards, maintaining order, resolving disputes and protecting liberties and rights. Law is established through a variety of means, including legislation and judicial decisions. In democratic societies, laws are publicly disclosed and enforced equally. Laws are usually based on some combination of human nature, tradition and custom, morality, reason and science.
There are many different types of laws in use, ranging from ancient practices such as the coroners’ courts to modern statutes and electronic legal records. The differences between laws and legal systems depend on the cultural, economic and political context of a country. Laws may also vary between districts in the same country, depending on the traditions and case-law of that area.
Historically, the development of the law has been closely linked to changing social conditions and disputes over government authority. Disputes over law are a central feature of politics, and they can lead to revolutions. For this reason, law is often considered as one of the principal elements of a democracy, and the concept of the rule of law has become popular as an ideal for countries to strive for.
In most nation-states, the power to create and enforce law rests with the people or groups that command military and other forms of political power. This has resulted in a wide diversity of law from nation to nation, with some of the principal differences being as follows:
Legal systems also differ over whether laws are written by legislators or interpreted by judges. In common law systems, the doctrine of precedent (stare decisis) establishes that a judge’s previous decisions will influence his or her subsequent rulings. This differs from civil law systems, in which legislative statutes are typically more detailed and judicial decisions are shorter and less detailed.
The law is also subject to a number of philosophical schools of thought. Hans Kelsen’s “pure theory of law” defines it as a ‘normative science’ that describes a set of rules to abide by, rather than dictating what must happen.
Other important legal concepts include property law, which covers ownership of land and personal possessions; contracts, which regulate the exchange of goods and services; and administrative law, which involves governing procedures for public agencies. Family law, which includes marriage and divorce proceedings, and criminal law are other important areas of the law. There is also a growing field of law concerning biosciences, which is sometimes called ‘biolaw’.
For an introduction to the basics of law, see legal research; law, history of; and law, philosophy of. For an analysis of how the law is affected by political structures, see constitution; ideology; political party; and politics. Articles that explore the law’s relationship with other subjects can be found under censorship; crime and punishment; terrorism; and war. Laws that are controversial or are the subject of debate are frequently discussed in footnotes. The use of footnotes should be limited, however, as they can obscure the main text.