Law is a set of rules created by the state to form a framework that ensures a peaceful society. If these laws are broken or breached, sanctions can be imposed. There is no definitive definition of the term “law”, and different people have different ideas about what it means. Despite this, a common theme is that the law is a set of principles that must be followed in order to ensure a safe society.
The law shapes politics, economics, history and society in various ways. The relationships between the law and these other fields are discussed in articles such as legal profession, legal education and legal ethics. The law also has an impact on individual lives and serves as a mediator of relations between people. The article below discusses the importance of the law and provides an overview of its major components.
There are many different areas of law, ranging from family law and criminal law to immigration law and nationality law. Each of these areas covers a specific area of human life and is governed by different laws. For example, family law concerns issues such as marriage and divorce and rights to children. Criminal law involves violations of public order and other crimes, and is governed by the criminal laws of each nation-state. Immigration and nationality law concerns the ability of individuals to live in a country that is not their own and to gain or lose citizenship. The legal system in each country is different, and as a result the law is often very different from one nation to another.
Most modern societies use the rule of law, which is based on legislative statutes and executive regulation, to govern their affairs. However, there are some cultures that do not use this system. The Inuit, for instance, are a culture that does not divide reality into the natural and non-natural/human: they believe that everything is connected and therefore nothing is separate. This is very different from the Western concept of law, which divides things into categories of human and non-human, which are then regulated by laws.
The law can be derived from religious precepts, such as those found in Jewish Halakha and Islamic Sharia, or from further human elaboration on that basis. Islamic law, for instance, uses the Quran and further judicial interpretation, Qiyas (reasoning by analogy) and Ijma (consensus) to create a comprehensive legal system. Some religious communities also have a canon law, which is binding for all members of the church.