Law is the set of enforceable rules that a society or country recognizes as governing its members’ behavior. It is a vast and varied field, and many books and debates have been devoted to it.
Generally, law is a system of rules that governs an area of activity, such as contracts, property rights or crime. Laws are enforced by a governmental body, which has the power to punish offenders. The law may also serve to keep peace, preserve the status quo or encourage social change. It can be written or oral, and can be created by a legislature, which produces statutes, or by the executive, with decrees and regulations. It can also be established through precedent, by judges in common law jurisdictions. In some cases, laws are imposed by the military.
It is often difficult to give a precise definition of law, because different legal systems have different approaches to it. For example, John Austin’s utilitarian definition was that “law is a system of commandments backed by the threat of sanctions from a sovereign to whom men have a habit of obedience.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s natural law theory was that “law reflects essentially moral and unchanging laws of nature, which impose themselves on human societies and are therefore universal.”
A central question in law is who has the right to make and enforce the laws. In most of the world, this is the power that a nation’s citizens give to their rulers. The power to do so is based on the prevailing social and cultural environment, and it differs from place to place. A government with authoritarian characteristics may keep the peace and maintain the status quo, but it may oppress minorities or political opponents. A parliamentary democracy, on the other hand, may provide for a free and democratic exchange of ideas.
There is also a wide range of law that deals with specific topics. For example, labour law covers the tripartite relationship between employer, worker and trade union, and includes issues such as minimum wages, health and safety and the right to strike. Property law is concerned with the ownership of things such as land, houses and cars, while criminal law deals with offences against a national, state or community, from theft to murder.
Legal historians have also documented the adjustments and justifications made to law over time, as it adapts to changing social conditions and disputes over the power of government. Oxford Reference offers comprehensive coverage of law in all its diversity, from the most widely used legal terms and concepts to in-depth, specialist encyclopedic entries. These are complemented by expert commentaries and footnotes where necessary.