Law

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Law (disambiguation) and Legal (disambiguation).

This article is about a social science. For the theory of law, see Jurisprudence.
"Legal concept" redirects here.

Lady Justice, a goddesssymbolising justice who bears a sword symbolising the coercive power of
a tribunal ,scales representing an objective standard by which competing claims are weighed and a
blindfold indicating that justice should be impartial and meted out objectively, without fear or favor and
regardless of money, wealth, power or identity.[1]

Law is a system of rules that are enforced through social institutions to govern behaviour.[2] Laws can
be made by legislatures through legislation (resulting in statutes), the executive
through decrees and regulations, or judges through binding precedent (normally in common
law jurisdictions). Private individuals can create legally binding contracts, including (in some
jurisdictions) arbitration agreements that may elect to accept alternative arbitration to the normal
court process. The formation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution (written or
unwritten) and the rightsencoded therein. The law shapes politics, economics, history and society in
various ways and serves as a mediator of relations between people.
A general distinction can be made between (a) civil law jurisdictions (including canon and socialist
law), in which the legislature or other central body codifies and consolidates their laws, and
(b) common law systems, where judge-made precedent is accepted as binding law.
Historically,religious laws played a significant role even in settling of secular matters, which is still the
case in some religious communities, particularly Jewish, and some countries, particularly Islamic.
Islamic Sharia law is the world's most widely used religious law.[3]
The adjudication of the law is generally divided into two main areas referred to as (i) Criminal law
and (ii) Civil law. Criminal law deals with conduct that is considered harmful to social order and in
which the guilty party may be imprisoned or fined. Civil law (not to be confused with civil law
jurisdictions above) deals with the resolution of lawsuits (disputes) between individuals or
organizations. These resolutions seek to provide a legal remedy (often monetary damages) to the

winning litigant. Under civil law, the following specialties, among others, exist: Contract law regulates
everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets. Property law regulates the
transfer and title of personal property and real property. Trust law applies to assets held for
investment and financial security. Tort law allows claims for compensation if a person's property
isharmed. Constitutional law provides a framework for the creation of law, the protection of human
rights and the election of political representatives. Administrative law governs what executive branch
agencies may and may not do, procedures that they must follow to do it, and judicial review when a
member of the public is harmed by an agency action. International law governs affairs between
sovereign states in activities ranging from trade to military action. To implement and enforce the law
and provide services to the public by public servants, a government's bureaucracy, military, and
police are vital. While all these organs of the state are creatures created and bound by law, an
independent legal profession and a vibrant civil society inform and support their progress.
Law provides a rich source of scholarly inquiry into legal history, philosophy, economic
analysis and sociology. Law also raises important and complex issues concerning equality, fairness,
and justice. There is an old saying that 'all are equal before the law'. In 1894, the author Anatole
France said sarcastically, "In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under
bridges, beg in the streets, and steal loaves of bread."[4] Writing in 350 BC,
the Greek philosopher Aristotle declared, "The rule of law is better than the rule of any
individual."[5] Mikhail Bakuninsaid: "All law has for its object to confirm and exalt into a system the
exploitation of the workers by a ruling class".[6] Cicero said "more law, less justice".[7] Marxist doctrine
asserts that law will not be required once the state has withered away.[8]
Contents
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1 Definition
o

1.1 Mainstream definitions

1.2 Whether it is possible or desirable to define law

2 History

3 Legal theory
o

3.1 Philosophy

3.2 Positive law and non-positive law discussions

3.3 Economic analysis

3.4 Sociology

4 Legal systems
o

4.1 Civil law

4.2 Common law and equity

4.3 Religious law

4.3.1 Sharia law

5 Legal institutions
o

5.1 Judiciary

5.2 Legislature

5.3 Executive

5.4 Military and police

5.5 Bureaucracy

5.6 Legal profession

5.7 Civil society

6 Legal subjects
o

6.1 International law

6.2 Constitutional and administrative law

6.3 Criminal law

6.4 Contract law

6.5 Tort law

6.6 Property law

6.7 Equity and trusts

6.8 Further disciplines

7 See also

8 Notes

9 References

10 External links

Definition
Main articles: Definition of law and Analytical jurisprudence

Mainstream definitions

Numerous definitions of law have been put forward over the centuries. The Third New International
Dictionary from Merriam-Webster[9] defines law as: "Law is a binding custom or practice of a
community; a rule or mode of conduct or action that is prescribed or formally recognized as binding
by a supreme controlling authority or is made obligatory by a sanction (as an edict, decree, rescript,
order, ordinance, statute, resolution, rule, judicial decision, or usage) made, recognized, or enforced
by the controlling authority
The Dictionary of the History of Ideas published by Scribner's in 1973 defined the concept of law
accordingly as: "A legal system is the most explicit, institutionalized, and complex mode of regulating
human conduct. At the same time it plays only one part in the congeries of rules which influence
behavior, for social and moral rules of a less institutionalized kind are also of great importance." [10]

Whether it is possible or desirable to define law

There have been many attempts to produce "a universally acceptable definition of law". In 1972, one
source indicated that no such definition could be produced. [11] Glanville Williams said that the
meaning of the word "law" depends on the context in which that word is used. He said that, for
example, "early customary law" and "municipal law" were contexts where the word "law" had two
different and irreconcilable meanings.[12] Thurman Arnold said that it is obvious that it is impossible to
define the word "law" and that it is also equally obvious that the struggle to define that word should
not ever be abandoned.[13] It is possible to take the view that there is no need to define the word "law"
(e.g. "let's forget about generalities and get down to cases").[14]

History
Main article: Legal history

King Hammurabi is revealed thecode of laws by the Mesopotamian sun god Shamash, also revered as the god
of justice.

The history of law links closely to the development of civilisation. Ancient Egyptian law, dating as far
back as 3000 BC, contained a civil code that was probably broken into twelve books. It was based
on the concept of Ma'at, characterised by tradition, rhetorical speech, social equality and impartiality.
[15][16]
By the 22nd century BC, the ancient Sumerian ruler Ur-Nammu had formulated the first law
code, which consisted of casuistic statements ("if then ..."). Around 1760 BC, King
Hammurabi further developed Babylonian law, by codifying and inscribing it in stone. Hammurabi
placed several copies of his law code throughout the kingdom of Babylon as stelae, for the entire
public to see; this became known as the Codex Hammurabi. The most intact copy of these stelae

was discovered in the 19th century by British Assyriologists, and has since been
fully transliterated and translated into various languages, including English, Italian, German, and
French.[17]
The Old Testament dates back to 1280 BC and takes the form of moral imperatives as
recommendations for a good society. The smallGreek city-state, ancient Athens, from about the 8th
century BC was the first society to be based on broad inclusion of its citizenry, excluding women and
the slave class. However, Athens had no legal science or single word for "law",[18] relying instead on
the three-way distinction between divine law (thmis), human decree (nomos) and custom (dk).
[19]
Yet Ancient Greek law contained majorconstitutional innovations in the development
of democracy.[20]
Roman law was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, but its detailed rules were developed by
professional jurists and were highly sophisticated.[21][22] Over the centuries between the rise and
decline of the Roman Empire, law was adapted to cope with the changing social situations and
underwent major codification under Theodosius II and Justinian I.[23] Although codes were replaced
by custom andcase law during the Dark Ages, Roman law was rediscovered around the 11th century
when medieval legal scholars began to research Roman codes and adapt their concepts. Latin legal
maxims (called brocards) were compiled for guidance. In medieval England, royal courts developed
a body of precedentwhich later became the common law. A Europe-wide Law Merchant was formed
so that merchants could trade with common standards of practice rather than with the many
splintered facets of local laws. The Law Merchant, a precursor to modern commercial law,
emphasised the freedom to contract and alienability of property.[24] As nationalism grew in the 18th
and 19th centuries, the Law Merchant was incorporated into countries' local law under new civil
codes. The Napoleonic and German Codes became the most influential. In contrast to English
common law, which consists of enormous tomes of case law, codes in small books are easy to
export and easy for judges to apply. However, today there are signs that civil and common law are
converging.[25] EU law is codified in treaties, but develops through the precedent laid down by
the European Court of Justice.

The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution for a country, containing 444 articles, 12 schedules,
numerous amendments and 117,369 words.

Ancient India and China represent distinct traditions of law, and have historically had independent
schools of legal theory and practice. The Arthashastra, probably compiled around 100 AD (although

it contains older material), and the Manusmriti (c. 100300 AD) were foundational treatises in India,
and comprise texts considered authoritative legal guidance. [26] Manu's central philosophy was
tolerance and pluralism, and was cited across Southeast Asia.[27] This Hindu traditio