Law is a set of rules created and enforced by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior. Its precise nature has been the subject of longstanding philosophical debate, but it is generally considered to be a system of rights and duties encoded in written or tacit documents, with the force of state sanction behind them. Law shapes politics, economics, history and society in various ways and can be viewed as an instrument of justice or as a means of control. Law is enforceable through the courts, executive orders or legislation, and private individuals may create legally binding contracts.
A country’s laws are often developed and codified through a complex process, with the result that different jurisdictions have distinct legal systems. These are often influenced by cultural, religious and historical factors, but also by the way in which government functions and the way in which societies organize themselves into political entities. The concept of law also reflects the ways in which societies have evolved over time, with each development bringing new challenges and opportunities for governing their populations.
The law is defined by four broad purposes: establishing standards, maintaining order, resolving disputes, and protecting liberties and rights. The emergence of the idea of law has coincided with the rise of modern civilizations, notably in China, India and the British Empire. Modern law has been shaped by the development of social sciences, philosophy and ethics.
In the West, the philosophical debate around law has focused on the extent to which it incorporates morality. Utilitarian theories, centered on John Austin’s definition of law as “commands, backed by the threat of sanctions, from a sovereign, to whom people have a habit of obedience,” dominated until the 20th century. A more ethical approach to the question was embodied in Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s notion of natural law, which later resurfaced as a major influence on Thomas Aquinas and other philosophers.
There are many sub-disciplines within the field of law, ranging from administrative to criminal to family law. Each discipline has its own methodologies, but all share the same fundamental elements: The collection of rules that govern a particular area of human activity.
Law can be made by a legislature, producing statutes; by the executive, resulting in decrees and regulations; or by judges through precedent, known as common law or case law. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses, and a lawyer must carefully examine each option in the context of the facts of a particular case before deciding on a course of action. In common law jurisdictions, this process is complicated by the existence of a detailed history of previous decisions and statements by other judges about what a court should do in a given situation. This is known as stare decisis. In many countries there are also law reviews, which are journals that publish articles on recent legal developments.