Law is a system of rules and regulations that governs the conduct of individuals in a society. It is an essential part of every human culture, influencing many aspects of social life including relationships, commerce, governance and property. Law serves four principal purposes: establishing standards, maintaining order, resolving disputes and protecting liberties and rights.
Different laws serve different purposes in the different societies of the world. For example, in a nation that has a stable democracy, laws are mainly used to protect citizens from oppressive governments, to guarantee freedom of speech, religion and the press, to ensure equitable access to government services, and to establish and enforce certain core human and property rights. In contrast, the laws of an authoritarian country might primarily keep the peace and preserve the status quo while oppressing minorities and restricting free social change.
A common law country — such as England and the United States — has a legal system that relies on articulating legal principles in a historical succession of judicial decisions. The doctrine of stare decisis holds that a court’s decision in one case will bind future courts to reach similar conclusions. In contrast, a civil law country may have legislative statutes and judges that strictly follow a code of procedure.
Some philosophers, such as Jeremy Bentham, argue that the purpose of law is to maximize happiness for the people that live under it. Others, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, believe that the purpose of law is to reflect essentially moral and unchangeable laws of nature.
Law has a strong influence on politics, economics, history and society. It shapes the way nations interact with each other and with the rest of the world, and determines the level of prosperity or poverty in the countries that they inhabit. In addition, the law also has a powerful effect on personal and family life. It can impose restrictions on travel, work and the acquisition of property, limit freedom of expression, shape a person’s reputation and even affect their health and well-being.
The field of study devoted to law encompasses a vast array of topics from the practicalities of criminal, corporate and employment law to the most fundamental questions of constitutional and statutory interpretation and legal philosophy. Oxford Reference offers a comprehensive set of resources that provide trusted and authoritative definitions and in-depth, specialist encyclopedic entries on this broad discipline. The collection includes thousands of concise definitions, covering everything from criminal and contract law to international law and legal history. It also includes expert articles and debates, complemented by charts and chronologies. The result is a definitive and unique resource for researchers at all levels.