What Is Law?

Law is the set of rules, customs and norms that a society sets up to regulate its behavior and activities. It is a large and broad subject and different people have very different views about what it encompasses. For example, one view is that it refers to all of a nation’s laws; another is that it includes only certain types of laws such as criminal or civil laws. It also has been argued that law is a concept that incorporates societal viewpoints on justice, morality and order.

The word law is often used to mean any kind of strong rule made by an authority that must be obeyed, such as parents’ house rules or a law against murder. However, the term can also be used to refer to the legal field or profession. It can also be used to refer to a specific law, such as the Constitutional Law, which is the fundamental law of a country and establishes how the government is organized, the powers of the different branches and the rights of citizens.

Many philosophers have written about what law is and the various theories that have been put forward. A common theme is that laws are a system of rules that govern societies and create the framework for peace and social behaviour. These rules are generally enforced by the state and if they are broken sanctions can be applied to punish offenders.

John Austin’s utilitarian definition of law was that it is “commands, backed by threat of sanction, from a sovereign to whom men have a habit of obedience.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau, on the other hand, developed a theory of natural law which states that there are essentially moral and unchangeable laws of nature.

Modern law has a variety of different areas which are broadly divided into civil and criminal law, property law and regulation. For instance, contract law covers agreements to exchange goods or services and is generally concerned with things like buying a bus ticket, hiring a car or trading shares in the stock market. Tort law covers damage to persons or property, such as in an accident or defamation. Criminal law deals with offences against a federal, state or local community and is concerned with punishment.

Finally, regulatory law covers regulations about business activity such as banking and financial, environmental and labour law. It is this sort of law which has become increasingly important since privatisation of public services and utilities such as water, energy, telecommunications and transport has taken place in most OECD countries. These businesses are now legally required to abide by the same regulations as the state and must provide public services in an ethical and responsible manner. This type of law also regulates the way in which companies do business, for example, how much capital they must have and rules about best practices. Lastly, labour law governs the rights and duties of employees. It is a very complex and diverse field which is constantly changing and evolving to reflect changes in the world economy and societies.