The Basics of Law

Law

Law is a system of rules that are created and enforced through social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior. It is a broad category that includes both public and private laws. Law influences politics, economics and history in many ways, as it shapes societies in a number of different ways. It serves the social purposes of establishing standards, maintaining order, resolving disputes and protecting liberties and rights. For an overview of the role of the legal profession, see Legal profession; for an exposition of its responsibilities in a democracy, see Political science; for a discussion of its relationships to social structures, see Law and society.

There are three main categories of law, though the subjects they cover overlap: Public law is a collection of statutes, regulations and other legally binding rules that govern all aspects of the state’s operation. Examples of public law are laws on taxation, social security, employment and criminal law. Private law covers contracts, business and property. These laws are made by governments or privately governed corporations, and are binding upon all citizens. Private laws may include contractual agreements, shareholder rights and company constitutions. They may also cover property ownership, trusts and intellectual property.

The rules of law may be formulated by a legislative body, which produces statutes; or, as in common law systems, they can be established through the case decisions of judges, which are known as precedent. The principle of stare decisis establishes that rulings in previous cases bind future courts, to assure consistency and fairness in the legal system. Religious laws, particularly Sharia, have also been used to settle legal disputes in some countries.

Some areas of law are specialised, for example, environmental law, administrative law, constitutional law and terrorism law. Other areas of law are a general concern with the principles and processes of the legal system, such as justice and the rule of law; and the rights and obligations of citizens, including civil rights and human rights.

The study of law is a complex subject and can take a great deal of time to understand. Laws are often written in long, complicated language and are not always easily understood by non-legal people. For this reason, many people choose to specialise in certain areas of law or work as lawyers. Some famous lawyers are referred to as Esquire, which signifies their professional status and reputation, or as Doctor of Law, which indicates the degree of law that they have obtained. Others simply use their professional title, which is often a name. Other titles for lawyers are Barrister or Solicitor, which signify their membership of a bar or solicitors’ firm. A more common term is Attorney, which can be translated from Latin as “attorney at law.” Laws are also sometimes referred to as Slip laws or Statutes, which refers to the way in which they are printed. At the end of each session of Congress, a collection of slip laws is published and incorporated into the U.S. Statutes at Large.